Questions about outdoor area at residence

August 23, 2016 was a sunny day for the board of directors and the administration at St. Joseph’s at Fleming as they garnered publicity for the “Sensory Pathway.” Dispelling the home’s adverse media coverage of 2013 was, perhaps, the objective,.

SJAF received a grant from the Harper government to improve the outdoor area’s accessibility for residents of the home. The federal grant was $31,200 based on an application by SJAF citing an estimated cost of $50,000. The grant was conditional that any dollar shortfall could not include any federal funds. So where was the $18,800 found?

Prior to 2015 residents at SJAF, the many with mobility issues, were able to visit an enclosed exterior garden areas via an attractive, easy to use passageway from the lower floor of the building. A previous Administrator had, with care and compassion, created that safe ground level access to overcome the safety hazards of the exterior steep roadway route.

In 2015, citing security reasons. the SJAF Administrator eliminated that safe ground level access. Closing breaches in the gardens’ enclosing security fence would have resolved those concerns – a solution that seems to have never been considered nor entertained by the new administrator. Perhaps the prospect of getting the federal grant was the reason.

What seems to have been missed on this $50,000 or more expenditure is a realistic evaluation by the board of directors as to whether or not the project would actually benefit the majority of the Residents..

On that sunny day celebrating the grand opening of the Pathway no-one paid any attention to the very evident safety hazards, particularly for residents in wheelchairs, now vested in that Pathway. Residents can now only access outdoor gardens via the main entrance and then by navigating one or more of three difficult and hazardous inclines.

An accident on the Pathway could have significant liability consequences now that only safe and easy ground level access route has been eliminated. - a negligent disregard for safety.

Since 2015 vulnerable residents have been denied accessibility to an outdoor garden which they, in prior years, enjoyed. What happened to compassion and care? William Stoker Peterborough