Three county rest homes facing cloudy futures after cut to subsidies
Paul Handsor is worried he's facing homelessness.
Seven years ago, at age 38, Handsor made a move to Leamington from Windsor. Living on a disability pension, his expenses were subsidized through Housing With Supports, a program run by the county, at Leamington Lodge.
“I had visited here and I liked it.” That year, in September, he was diagnosed with cancer.
“That basically solidified my place here,” he said.
But last year, the county cut off the subsidies to the residential care centre amid allegations owner and administrator Kathy Edwards was unable to maintain standards or control criminal activity on the premises.
County documents have noted: Allegations of serious health incidents such as wound infections and bed bug infestations. Alleged incidents of violence and serious injuries.
Complaints alleging hoarding in rooms, drug use, drug trafficking and insufficient food. An alleged lack of enforcement of a smoking policy.
In addition, the county solicitor said the “lack of co-operation during the ongoing pandemic in enforcing social distancing and other safety measures intended to assist in battling COVID-19 and protecting the residents, has provided the county with another level of concern that is part of the consideration in terminating the agreement.”
The county offered to help affected residents move elsewhere.
“I've made it perfectly clear that we feel actually quite safe here,” Handsor said, adding he would not feel safe moving during a pandemic.
“There's absolutely no way that Kathy can keep these places going without some sort of help in the financial area for the residents.
“It's not her that's going to lose, just by herself.”
Edwards said she houses people “nobody wants” — people suffering from drug addiction, mental illness, homelessness and those with criminal records.
She operates three private homes — Leamington Lodge and Seniors Alternative Care Inc. in Leamington, and Essex Manor in Essex.
The county cut off its $55-perday subsidy for the people it supports at Essex Manor and Seniors Alternative Care last month, after ending its funding for Leamington Lodge earlier last year.
“Nobody wants to help us,” said a frustrated Edwards.
Her allegations go further.
“It's been a hard road to deal with a town that is very discriminatory against my residents,” Edwards said of the Town of Leamington.
Making it that much more difficult for her, Edwards said she is dealing with cancer, with which she was diagnosed several years ago, and a daughter who struggles with mental-health issues and drug addiction, while caring for her daughter's four children.
“I'm it. I'm the only one (who provides a residence) in town that takes care of people with mental health, addictions and homelessness. I've been doing it for 22 years,” she said. “I'm the only person in Essex County that deals with this type of level.”
Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald said over the last 15 years, homelessness and the number of people with mental-health issues and addictions have increased, and the town lacks facilities.
“We are working with county and city agencies trying to find solutions,” Macdonald said. “But at the moment, most of those facilities come out of the city, just based on the fact that the bigger numbers are there.
“We absolutely want a well-run residence. We feel that we need to supply housing for folks in those predicaments,” she said. “We are working toward doing a bigger homeless facility, it's just difficult to do.
“But the facility has to follow the rules and has to meet all the guidelines and that's all I'm going to say on that. I leave a blank for you to fill that in.”
Edwards has been fined under the town's nuisance bylaw for ongoing false fire alarms at the Leamington Lodge. She said she has “over $50,000 in fines” so far and “no one else” in Leamington is ever charged.
“It costs every time the fire trucks gear up and go out,” the mayor said. “We have a nuisance alarm bylaw with penalties.
“Nothing is directed at them but when there is proliferation of nuisance alarms, after the first one, we charge.”
Edwards said major problems began for her in 2016 when she threatened to hire a lawyer to defend herself against “what everybody has done, all these professionals and the town hall has done to me in the last five years.”
“So that's when all hell broke loose,” she said. “It was a conspiracy to get rid of the residents and the lodge. And now they have attacked Seniors Alternative and Essex Manor because they know that could financially ruin me.”
In July 2020, Edwards hired Kim Hennin, a former compliance officer for the provincial government who helped long-term care homes meet or exceed standards of care.
Hennin said he brought in a new team of managers for the homes and a range of training programs for staff “to ensure they're aware of all the standards they need,” including food certifications.
He met with county officials to discuss the issues, or “challenges,” in the homes and to share what he was doing.
“They argued about the past and I said, `Look, I understand there were challenges in the past, but I'm not interested in the past,' ” Hennin said. “`I'm here to change everything going into the future so that these homes meet or exceed what your expectations are.'
“We brought them up to above the standards that were required at the homes,” he said. “They (county officials) had already decided in their minds that they were going to withdraw the funding anyway.”
County solicitor David Sundin confirmed the contracts at the two other homes were recently terminated but was reluctant to release any details saying it was a private contractual matter.
“The county has the ability to terminate with cause or for no reason at all giving 30 days notice,” he said.
Because of the termination of the county's subsidy program, Edwards received notice from the City of Windsor's legal department that she must immediately repay two Investment in Affordable Housing — Ontario Renovates loans received in 2016. That is in addition to the repayment of a loan for Leamington Lodge, for which she previously received notice.
Edwards said the forgivable loans or mortgages on her property shrink each year, making it unnecessary for her to repay them. But she has been ordered to pay $43,426 for Essex Manor, $39,661 for Seniors Alternative Care and $35,000 for Leamington Lodge or face the possibility of a power-ofsale of her properties.
Edwards said the loans were used to install sprinkler systems in the homes.
“How do they think I'm just going to come up with that kind of money?” she said. “We are drowning here.”
She said she's attempting to remortgage the properties with a financial institution.
Handsor, the Leamington Lodge resident, said the world's not a perfect place, “And neither is every home in it.
“All things considered, there's a wide variety of individuals in places like homes with supports and whatnot, so to expect that everything is going to be spic and span is ridiculous to begin with,” he said.
“Sometimes people do get in a bad situation. But I've seen the place go from a not-so-most-encouraging place to a much more happy place with the right things happening.”
It was a conspiracy to get rid of the residents and the lodge. ... they know that could financially ruin me.