Some residents of Chartwell Heritage Glen have lived there for over 20 years, but after being told they have to find new housing in just over three months, they’re fighting back.
Along with their loved ones, residents are calling on all levels of government to step in after the Mississauga retirement home announced it would close to make way for a private housing development.
Residents received N13 eviction notices in mid-March telling them that they had until the end of July to find a new home.
The developer has said they plan to renovate the residence and redevelop it into traditional rental units for all ages.
“I feel if Chartwell wanted to move us out, they should be finding us a place equal to what we’re paying now,” said Jerry Jones, a current Chartwell resident.
“That would have been a fair offer.”
Jones has been a resident of Chartwell Heritage Glen for three years, but is now being moved to an Orangeville Chartwell residence, with his bills jumping from $2,500 a month to more than $3,500.
“That takes a lot of my savings and what I’ve accomplished so far,” said Jones.
Rally organizers with ACORN Canada, a community and tenant union of low-to-moderate income people, say the renoviction is impacting the health of residents as well.
“These people have a lowered immune system to start with as a senior, their immune system is down, stress will bring it down even more,” said Michele Sarantos, a member of ACORN.
Some residents, like Jovita Nagy, said they haven’t been able to keep food down due to stress. Some stress factors include moving in the middle of a housing crisi, and the higher costs of living at a new residence.
Sheree Glen’s mother has also been stressed by the situation, living at Chartwell Heritage Glen since 2008.
“We actually see a bit of a decline, emotionally it’s very hard, [her asking] ‘Where am I going? Where are my things going?’,” said Glen.
Glen, rallying along with her sister Marilyn Brown, says the current care that their mother is getting at Chartwell is a unique combination of independent living but also having 24/7 support available if needed, and they fear it will be difficult to find that again at the same price.
“At least [make sure] they have the means and the opportunity to find something that is suitable for them,” said Sarantos.
Chartwell officials told CityNews in March that the aging infrastructure of the buildings has made it “unsustainable” to continue to operate as a retirement residence. They also said they have been operating at less than 60 per cent capacity for several years.
It added that “aside from meeting all regulatory requirements”, a team of consultants is providing personalized support to help residents find new housing options, while covering all costs related to relocation including moving expenses, one-on-one transitions support, moving expenses and discounted accommodations at other Chartwell residences.
Chartwell officials say their transitions team has already found alternative accommodations for more than 80 residents.
Retirement homes are only required by law to give three months’ notice before closing though families say they need more time and describe the supports Chartwell has offered with the relocation process as the bare minimum.
Last week Mississauga city council moved a motion to ask the province to extend the notice of eviction from 120 days to 180 days.
Current residents like Jones and Nagy will be moving to new accommodations together, but many other residents will be losing their community with the renoviction.
ACORN wants Mississauga to revamp the process for conversion of retirement homes so there is an advanced level of scrutiny at the city level. It is also demanding for the province to ban renovictions in retirement homes, and the federal government to fund and maintain non-profit retirement and long-term care homes.
There is currently a backlog of close to 40,000 people waiting for long-term care in Ontario. Seniors who can’t live independently but also can’t get into long-term care homes often rely on private retirement homes for that care.
With files from Caryn Ceolin