A Port Moody couple now living in Burnaby turned to the Senior Services Society in New Westminster for housing assistance, and it was a bittersweet experience.
The editor:
My husband and I have been renting privately in Port Moody for the past 12 years.
In April we were informed by the owner that the property was coming onto the market, but he wanted to sell it with existing tenants.
While we were thinking about what had just happened, we had the agent take photos for the sale and attended a few viewings, but during this time we felt uncomfortable and had to remove all of our personal belongings from view.
Since we are senior citizens, we looked around and found that we could not afford the usual rents and many buildings were under construction and not immediately available.
After a few weeks, we contacted the Senior Services Society in New Westminster and were offered an affordable and safe one-bedroom apartment in Burnaby.
We’ve finally settled in, but we’ve downsized. The advantage is that we can walk to all amenities and the Skytrain, so we don’t have to rely on the car.
It was very demanding both mentally and physically and although we are seniors, we have no physical disabilities.
All the administrative changes are very time-consuming and we can do most of them online – but it takes time.
It would have been good if we had found a place in Port Moody.
I know there are some in the process, but there are far from enough and it will be several years before places become available.
– Linda and Manfred Zumm, Burnaby
