'This is all I have left': Man living in Southwest Ont. RV park at risk of losing it all

Rick Hedden has been living at Maple Grove RV Park on Hwy 7, west of Guelph, Ont., for seven years, but the 65-year-old is at risk of losing his home after falling behind on his rent payments. He has been faced with warnings of eviction, and if he's forced to leave, he says he will end up homeless.

"I've already picked a spot out and I know where I'm going to put my tent," said Hedden, who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. "I can get my truck in there. Nobody will see it. I know where I'm going."

"I didn't wake up and ask to get hurt," he said, starting to cry. "I didn't wake up and ask to get lung cancer. I didn't move in here intending to not pay rent."  

Hedden is facing the prospect of homelessness amid a housing crisis in Canada. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has said 3.5 million homes need to be built by 2030 in order to keep up with demand. 

In 2021, over 28,000 people were living in what Statistics Canada calls "other service collective dwellings." This includes "training centre residences" and "school residences," as well as recreational vehicle parks, or RV parks, like the one Hedden lives in. 

Hedden said he used to own a three-bedroom house in Brantford, Ont., bought from his grandfather, who built it himself. However, he lost it after he wasn't able to keep up with the mortgage payments. 

He moved into the RV park a few years later, after his doctor ordered him to stop working due to an injury. He was working in property restoration, helping people rebuild their homes following water or fire damage, and said he was making more than $50,000 a year. 

Hedden signed up for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) shortly after that and was receiving $1,148 each month. Currently, he pays about $700 for his spot in the park, leaving him with a little over $400 a month for other expenses. 

"This is my home — this is all I have left," Hedden said. "When I bought this trailer, I said, 'Now I got a place to live and I got a place to die.'"  

He fell behind on his rent at the park at the end of last year,  prompting the eviction notice. There was also a complaint about drug paraphernalia found on his property. Hedden said it belonged to a friend. 

He got temporary rent help from the County of Wellington's housing social services and has avoided eviction for now. But it's up to him to keep paying his rent moving forward.

Issues at the park

Hedden hasn't just been struggling with uncertainty around his health or making ends meet. He explained he began having issues with the park management.

According to Hedden, he was hassled over the size of his dog leash. He was also told he could no longer keep his utility vehicle on site even though that was permitted in his lease. Hedden they tried to raise his rent from about $700 a month to $850, but that never happened.

There are other problems at the park: the province confirmed the drinking water has high levels of sodium, more than normal. Because of his health, Hedden is unable to drink it and relies on bottled water.

There are also issues with the septic system. CBC News has confirmed the park has been charged by the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, and the issue is before the courts.

CBC reached out to the management of Maple Grove RV Park, which declined to comment about the allegations and issues brought up by Hedden.

'Not the best-case scenario'

Hedden's current living situation is not an uncommon one, according to Wayne Paddick, executive director of the Cambridge Shelter Corp., which offers supports for those experiencing homelessness in Cambridge, Ont.  

"I think it is more common than we actually hear about because I get calls from community agencies often about a couple living in a car or an individual with kids living in a car, this gentleman living in an RV, so I think there are several of these cases out there.

"A lot of times these folks are flying under the radar. Living in an RV park in a trailer does not sound like the worst-case scenario to me — I love camping myself —  however … in the winter time, if the trailer runs out of heat or whatever, it's not the best-case scenario."  

'Main driver to increasing homelessness'

Joe Mancini, co-founder of the Working Centre in Kitchener, Ont., which combats poverty and homelessness in the region, said Hedden's situation is heartbreaking.

"It is clear that people not able to pay their rent and then losing their housing and then not being able to find any kind of housing that would match the kind of social assistance income that they have is the main driver to increasing homelessness," he said.   

Mancini explained that once someone finds themselves experiencing homelessness, it's "almost impossible" for them to subsequently find stable housing again. 

"Right now there are so few affordable housing options for people," he said. 

Despite Hedden's plan to sleep rough in the event he's evicted, for the time being, he's confident he can make things work money-wise.

But a big concern is what will happen to his pet parrot, dog and two kittens in the event that his lung cancer gets worse and he can't care for the animals any longer.

Tearily, he said that what he's been spending his time doing "is hunting up people that can take them" — a thought that has Hedden speechless with grief.

Give me shelter: The hunt for housing in Waterloo region is a series by CBC Kitchener-Waterloo that hears from the people struggling to secure the housing they want and need. They might be making do with non-traditional housing: a tent, a room shared with multiple people or their parents' basement. We look at how the basic need for housing is not being met for many people in a rapidly growing region of Ontario.