‘Unnecessary death’ shows need for ‘complaint liaison’
Attila Csanyi, a 28-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia, died less than two months after losing his lodging home tenancy
Hamilton city councillors have supported the creation of a staff position to field complaints from residents of lodging homes after the recent death of a man who had lost his space at one.
“It was an unnecessary death that highlights the challenges that we have in the system,” Coun. Brad Clark said before his colleagues backed his call for a “complaint liaison” Friday.
The Spectator reported this week that Attila Csanyi died homeless about two months after losing his room at Sampaguita Lodging and Rest Home on Bay Street South.
Csanyi, who had schizophrenia, was told to leave on March 11. The 28-yearold was found dead on the roof of Jackson Square on May 2.
His twin brother, Richard — who called that loss of housing “the nail in the coffin” — believes a drug overdose killed Attila. Police await toxicology results.
In December, advocates of tenants in lodging homes — also called residential care facilities — asked city councillors to offer safeguards against illegal evictions and stronger protection for those who complain about operators. At the time, Clark received support in asking staff to report back in 60 days on the feasibility of an advocate’s office for tenants.
Staff say that report — and a more involved review of the city’s residential care facilities program — has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Friday, Clark said the current public health emergency made the creation of a modified “liaison” role as a stopgap until June 2021 — or when council decides a longer-term arrangement — all the more urgent.
The city subsidizes 52 of the 88 residential care facilities in Hamilton. Hundreds of residents — frail older adults, disabled, mentally ill, cognitively delayed or those battling addiction — receive care and meals in these homes.
Some of these for-profit lodging homes have come under city scrutiny for inadequate care and conditions, including poor sanitary practices, pest infestations and improper storage of medication.
As it stands, when problems arise, residents are reluctant to call municipal law enforcement to complain about problems because they fear being thrown to the street, Clark said.
“They feel very vulnerable and their families don’t have the ability to advocate for them. They don’t even know where to begin.”
Clark told The Spectator it’s “unfair” to leave them to insist on an operator’s compliance with regulations.
“In my opinion, this is under the city’s purview and we should be doing that.”
The owner of Sampaguita Lodging and Rest Home said staff told Attila Csanyi not to bring friends over just as the pandemic started to take hold. Amy Acierto also said he punched a resident. “The eviction, we did it right.” Attila’s brother, Richard, however, said his brother wouldn’t have hit anyone unless he felt threatened. He said there was no proper notice under provincial legislation. “There wasn’t even time for him to pick up his possessions.”
Doctors with homeless or precariously housed patients point to how health erodes — including stopping medication and relapsing drug use — when they don’t have places to live. “Homelessness is deadly,” said Dr. Jill Wiwcharuk, a physician with the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team.
Attila’s death isn’t the only example of cracks in the lodging home system. Tenant groups have been pushing the city to address problems for years. á Last year, tenants at Burris Lodge said they received little notice that they had to leave due to its closure due to financial problems. One man ended up on the street with a spinal infection.
á More recently, in May, Spectator columnist Susan Clairmont reported on how rising tensions between operators and tenants at residential care facilities during the pandemic has resulted in homelessness.
á The Martino families, who own the Rosslyn Retirement Residence — site of the worst coronavirus outbreak in the city and whose licence was revoked recently due to horrific conditions — also own lodging homes.
In an email, residential care facility operator Calvin Cain said most staff, who receive lower wages compared to workers, are caring despite the stress of the pandemic. “They are the backbone that keeps doors of the (lodging homes) open and safe for residents,” said Cain, local regional director of the Ontario Homes for Special Needs Association.
During Friday’s emergency and community services meeting, Coun. Esther Pauls said there are “great operators,” but the city has to advocate for residents in homes that aren’t run well.
Clark’s motion — which requires final approval by council — asks staff to report back on details of the complaint process.
Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based city hall reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com