Two care facilities have been shut down
Burris and St. Francis lodges are no longer operating because of financial problems
All 19 residents of Burris and St. Francis lodges have been moved after a city order to halt operations at the residential care facilities went into effect Thursday.
The homes for vulnerable residents at 28 Burris St. and 57 Proctor Blvd. — run by Genesis Lodge Residential Care Facilities of Brampton — had run into financial problems over the past several months. A property management company has taken possession on behalf of the mortgage holder.
The city had been paying utility bills over the past few months while Genesis was given time to wind down operations, with a “cease and desist” order going into effect Thursday.
“There are no remaining residents and as of right now (5 p.m. on Thursday) the property management company is locking the door on the second site,” said Rob Mastroianni, from the city housing division.
About 10 of the residents have been placed in other resident care facilities or emergency shelters, three are in hotels, and the rest either moved in with family or decided they would find accommodation on their own, he said.
Sandra Johnson of Genesis says, “There is nothing wrong with the homes. This is a legal battle between me and my mortgagee.”
“We love our residents. We went out of our way. We did everything for these people and it is so sad that this happened.”
The mortgage holder, Elle Mortgage Corp, received a default judgment against Genesis, in connection with a $1.15-million loan. A lawyer representing Genesis has filed a motion to overturn the ruling.
“Her argument is that the default judgment should be set aside because the numbers they are claiming are inaccurate and she feels she was misled,” said Genesis lawyer Matt Mulholland.
A city health services official said — in addition to the financial difficulties — there have been issues involving a lack of food and staff. Meanwhile, Calvin Cain, Hamilton regional director for the Ontario Homes for Special Needs Association, says the closure draws attention to a fundamental problem in caring for the city’s most vulnerable.
Residential care facilities offer housing and care to low-income residents — people who are frail and elderly, or have mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, addictions or other special needs.
“There is a lack of funding that undermines an ability to operate homes,” says Cain.
Genesis did not receive a municipal subsidy of $52 per day (about $1,600 per month) per resident, and had only Ontario Disability Support Program cheques from residents for revenue (amounting to $746 per month).
“If you don’t have the subsidy, it is very difficult to keep afloat. Even with the subsidy it is a challenge to make ends meet,” he said. “Operators of residential care facilities are required to provide a high standard of care. And there just aren’t enough funds to do that.”
He noted the facilities are required to have staffing 24 hours a day, and minimum wage hikes by the provincial government have greatly increased costs. Genesis was not subsidized because a former owner had its eligibility revoked by the city. When Genesis came along a couple of years ago, its owners hoped to have the subsidy reinstated. But that never happened because, for one thing, there is a waiting list for a limited number of subsidized spaces in the city.
The closure of Burris and St. Francis lodges come after several years of serious issues under different owners that came to a head in June 2016, with an unprecedented emergency resettlement effort by the City of Hamilton. Workers relocated 45 residents who had been living at Burris, St. Francis and two other facilities. Genesis emerged the following year as a new operator with plans to turn things around at Burris and St. Francis and received a licence to do it.