Residents of an assisted living facility for people with mental illness in BC are demanding answers about why their home is being closed and sold by the province, with no set plan for their future. Lina’s Place in New Westminster, about 25 kilometers southeast of Vancouver, is currently home to 11 people who cook meals together, watch sports together, volunteer together and think of each other as family. But in early July, they were called to a meeting where they were told the facility would close in a year due to the need for expensive but unspecified repairs to the 21-year-old duplex. Residents have been told a transition plan will be developed for each of them, but those who spoke to the CBC are concerned they will be separated and forced to leave the community they call home. “These are my friends, these are my family,” said resident Jeff McPherson, 59. “We care about each other.” Lina’s Place is operated by the Pioneer Community Living Association under contract to Fraser Health, in a home owned by BC Housing. New Westminster Coun. Jaimie McEvoy says he has contacted all three agencies to ask for more details about the repairs, which he understands are related to the building envelope, but so far, he has been unsuccessful. He pointed out that if this situation involved a rental building, the landlord would have to provide proof of repairs before evicting all tenants. “Buildings are constantly being repaired. Buildings have problems all the time. It would be really nice if Fraser Health and BC Housing would come forward with some better information,” he said. “I think it’s difficult and unfair for tenants and families when they can’t assess the situation for themselves.” Alison Chow, pictured here on Sept. 15 with Tim Williams at right, says everyone who stays with her at Lina’s Place in New Westminster, BC, “has really good hearts.” (Justine Boulin/CBC) McPherson says living at Lina’s Place helped build his confidence and provided stability after two tumultuous decades that saw him briefly living on the streets of Edmonton. “If I went back to where I was … it would be a step back in my progress,” McPherson said, referring to the transitional housing he lived in before. He is not alone in these fears. WATCHES | Residents talk about losing Lina:
Jeff MacPherson and Tim Williams talk about life at Lina’s Place
Two residents of Lina’s Place, an assisted living facility in New Westminster, BC, discuss the friendships they’ve found there and their fears about what will happen when it closes. Alison Chow, 34, is a music student at nearby Douglas College and is worried about being moved away from her classes and her Lina’s Place family. “Everyone at home is in a good mood, everyone is very kind, no one gets angry… Everyone at Lina’s has a very good heart,” she said. McPherson’s best friend, Tim Williams, 61, says he’s worried he’ll have to move with his brother to Vancouver Island, a long way from the only friends he’s ever had. “I would like to say to BC Housing, what the hell — sorry, what the hell — are they doing to us? Why are they doing this?” Williams said.
“What’s the real problem?”
The official notification came in a July 6 letter to residents from Iain Nicol, director of mental health and substance use at Fraser Health, who said the decision “is based on the need for a newer building and funding for more program options housing”. Family members say further information has been difficult to find. “We’re told an engineering report has been done that says the building can’t be saved, it has to be sold,” said McPherson’s brother, Craig. “Although we asked at the meeting, how much money is required for the repair? To what extent? What is the real problem? None of the four representatives there had an answer.” Lina’s Place, an assisted living facility for people with mental illness, occupies both sides of a duplex in New Westminster, BC (Justine Boulin/CBC) Despite the three-day warning, representatives for BC Housing, Fraser Health and the Pioneer Community Living Association did not respond to CBC’s requests for comment. Residents asked to see the engineer’s report, but BC Housing said they would have to file a Freedom of Information request to get those details. Their families are questioning the timing of the announcement, which came shortly after an independent report was published identifying various problems in BC Housingincluding oversight of expenditures and shortly before the majority of the agency’s board was fired. Brad McPherson, another of Jeff’s brothers, said he can’t help but wonder if the sale of Lina’s Place is “an opportunity to grab some quick cash for some bureaucratic inefficiencies and deficiencies.” Tim Williams, left, and Jeff MacPherson have become best friends since moving into Lina’s Place, and fear they’ll be separated when the building is sold. (Justine Boulin/CBC) The property has more than quadrupled in value since it was purchased in 2002, according to BC Assessment records, and in total, the two sides of the duplex have been assessed at about $2.6 million. Then-BC Housing CEO Shayne Ramsay gave more details about how the money was used in an email to a family member on Sept. 1. “Fraser Health is committed to reinvesting program funding (in partnership with BC Housing) in the Fraser North region to develop a new bed program to help meet the needs of anticipated population growth in this area of the region . Ramsay wrote. That means funding could be redirected to programs in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody or even Maple Ridge. Residents and their families say they haven’t heard anything yet about where they might end up. “It is agreed that it is completely financial and very insensitive to the state of mind of the residents at Lina’s, who are all very happy there,” Craig MacPherson said. “What is a life worth?”
Join us for a virtual town hall about the health care crisis in BC
(CBC) Emergency room closure. Shortages of family doctors. Waiting times with devastating consequences. Personnel issues and unhealthy work environments. British Columbia is in a health care crisis, and the province’s rural communities are suffering the most. Join us for Situation Critical: a free online public town hall on September 20 that will address the current state of health care, what isn’t working and what needs to change. You can I hear on CBC Radio One town hall across the province, watch on CBC TV and live town hall broadcast CBC Gemyoutube, Facebook and cbc.ca/bc.
