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“I couldn’t contain myself for the joy.” Bellwoods client Leotha Roberts shares her journey from the hospital to supportive housing.
Just last month, Leotha Roberts had no place to call home.
Originally from the Bahamas, Leotha moved to Canada in 2021, seeking asylum. In June of last year, she had major surgery to her foot due to complications from an old injury and her type I diabetes. Through inpatient rehabilitation, Leotha learned to navigate in a wheelchair, then with a walker.
After seven months, she was more than ready to leave the hospital — but the extended family members she’d been living with could no longer house her. Leotha simply had no place to go.
That’s when she got a life-changing phone call. Bellwoods Centres for Community Living had an open apartment at the Madison supportive housing site in Toronto’s Casa Loma neighbourhood. For Leotha, it was an ideal arrangement — she would have a place to call her own and still receive support for daily tasks limited by her surgery.
“I couldn’t contain myself for the joy,” says Leotha, recalling the moment she entered her accessible Bellwoods suite. “I like to be in an environment where I can get out and go places. In the hospital, I was in a cocoon, waiting. Now the butterfly is out.”
The Madison building is just one of 10 Bellwoods supportive housing sites across Toronto and the GTA. Each site provides accessible, affordable apartments to people with physical disabilities, along with access to care from personal support workers.
After months in the hospital, this renewed independence was especially meaningful for Leotha. She’d missed cooking her own food, sleeping in a private bedroom and exploring the city.
“That first night at Madison, I slept like a baby,” she says. “When I went to my family doctor she said, ‘Leotha, I can see you are happy. I can see the difference. I can see the relief.’ ”
Living at Madison recalls the sense of safety and community Leotha associates with her childhood in Nicholls Town, a seaside village on the island of Andros, Bahamas. With nine siblings, her early years centred around food, family and communal care.
“My mother would cook in those hotel-sized pots. And when she cooked, people in the neighbourhood would send their children with their own pots. My mother would put whatever she had in and send it back to the neighbours,” recalls Leotha. “No one needed for anything. Everyone would give. You didn’t have to ask.”
In her new home, Leotha is cooking the stewed fish and homemade bread of her childhood and looking for ways to connect with her new neighbours. As February draws to a close, Leotha says she is thankful to recognize Black History Month in an environment where she feels connected to her heritage.
“To be able to celebrate my culture as a Black person is just amazing,” she says. “I’m so grateful.”
This story is part of Black History Month at Bellwoods, where we are recognizing
the contributions and experiences of our Black community members. Read more stories.