Editor’s note, Aug. 1, 11:30 PM: This article has been updated to clarify the difference between two separate accessible student housing initiatives by CUSA, after talking with CUSA President David Oladejo.
Carleton has agreed to match donations from the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) to its new project, the Accessible Housing Initiative, alongside donations by the public, CUSA president David Oladejo confirmed.
For the new initiative, CUSA plans on crowdfunding with the public and also donating $25,000 for accessible student housing through Future Funder, Carleton’s fundraising platform. These funds will be matched by the university, Oladejo said.
According to him, the wait times for off-campus accessible housing are about five to seven years.
“A lot of students who do have disabilities end up graduating, and they have a very high chance of homelessness because they aren’t able to find places to live,” Oladejo said.
Previously, CUSA offered 25 scholarships of $1,000 each to students with disabilities through its Accessibility Initiative Bursary (AIB), a project piloted by the 2017-18 CUSA executive.
The description of the AIB on CUSA’s website says the bursary aims “at breaking down financial barriers for students with disabilities who require accessible housing.” Oladejo said that while the AIB originally aimed to help with accessible housing costs, students who received an AIB could use it as they saw fit, whether for tuition payments or groceries.
“Obviously, $1,000 is not a lot of money for one student, and we recognize that,” he added. “But, $1,000 is something, and that’s what stemmed into the realization of this new project, where students could get a higher amount of money, if need be, to be able to format and retrofit their homes to be more accessible.”
CUSA’s Accessible Housing Initiative is new this year and different from last year’s AIB, Oladejo said. The project has been in development with the Carleton Disability Awareness Centre (CDAC).
CDAC workers have attended meetings, brainstorming sessions, and conducted research to determine the best way to address the “accessible housing crisis” in Ottawa, according to its administrative coordinator, Céline Brown MacDonald.
“Ultimately, we’re aware that the costs of making housing more accessible are extremely high,” Brown MacDonald said in an email. “While the amount of the bursary can’t cover all of these costs, we’re working hard to help alleviate them.”
Falum Gibson, a former Carleton student living with cerebral palsy, lived on campus for two years and said she had a good experience overall, as campus was accessible for her.
She said she believes that off-campus housing for students with disabilities has become a need, because of long wait times and the high living costs associated with on-campus residence.
“It’s really good that they’re (the university) actually trying to find off-campus housing,” she said. “You’re very lucky to find anything that’s accessible off-campus.”
Oladejo said CUSA will be overseeing the crowdfunding efforts for this initiative, but Carleton and the Paul Menton Centre will be handling the application process and distribution of the funds.
He said the funds will be distributed to students when the full fundraising goal has been raised.
Photo by Aaron Hemens
