John Black was all set to move into a new home at Creekview Co-op housing on Granville Island.
For the past 14 months, Black has struggled to recover from a terrible accident that cost him his hands and feet.
In Dec. 2016, Black was hiking in central British Columbia when he fell and hit his head. He lay unconscious in minus-17-degree weather.
When RCMP found him several hours later, his hands and feet were frozen, forcing doctors to amputate.
He has had to learn new life skills at the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre where he forged a friendship with Danielle Linfoot, a B.C. woman who lost hands and feet to strep infection.
WATCH: B.C. woman who lost hands and feet looks to support fellow quadruple amputee
“I don’t ever see him grumpy, I don’t ever see him complaining,” she said of Black. “If something goes wrong, he just keeps trying. He’s very persistent with stuff. He’s been very good for me.”
Black and his sister Doris say they met with several co-op members at Creekview for more than two months, with a plan to have him move in next week.
“They were offering me furniture, they showed me the room,” Black said. “They said, ‘OK, you can probably move in March 1st.’ It was rolling along just fine.”
But just days ago, Black received a letter from a lawyer representing the Creekview Co-op, which reads, in part: “At the Board meeting on February 21, 2018, the Board considered your request… Unfortunately as the Co-op is not taking any new tenants at this time, they are still not able to offer John Black a room in Unit 202.”
WATCH: Pitt Meadows mother loses hands and feet to strep infection
Black said he is “very disappointed — and again I’m back to limbo because I have been looking for a place to live.”
“It’s not only not fair, but it’s not acceptable,” his sister, Doris Black, said.
“It’s not right, and I think everybody you talk to agrees with that.”
Global News reached out to the Creekview Housing Co-operative and lawyer Nisha Anand for comment but no one responded to the request.
Advocate Gordon Robertson is furious that the board has provided no reason to deny Black a new home.
“The lawyer emailed me and said that the board do not wish to discuss this any further,” he said.
“Because an awful lot of public funds have gone into there and an awful lot of public planning, I don’t really think that they should be allowed to make that decision.”
Black is now scrambling to find a new place to live, but he’s also searching for answers.
“I’m denied for no reason. So what’s going on?”
— With files from Julia Foy
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