Honourable Ms . Margaret McQuaig-Boyd disappointed Autumn Lodge offer rejected.

The MLA for Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley says she is disappointed an offer to postpone the closure of Autumn Lodge in Berwyn has been rejected.
In a Facebook post from yesterday, Marg McCuaig-Boyd says the North Peace Housing Foundation has turned down what she calls “the government’s offer of support” that would see the Lodge stay open until December 2019.
She adds, it looks like Autumn Lodge will close April 30 this year, as was previously decided.
McCuaig-Boyd also calls the rejection “truly upsetting ” and encourages anyone with questions to contact her.

Why would the North Peace Housing Foundation choose to cause further anguish to Autumn Lodge residents when in fact a remedy has been offered by government which would allow the Lodge to remain open until 2019?

North Peace Housing Foundation, Autumn Lodge closure.
Letter to Minister Sigurdson,

“I would like to explain to you what really happened on July 7, 2017 when Mr. Richard Walisser came into the Lodge and tore our lives apart”
A former resident of the Berwyn Autumn Lodge

I am a former Resident of the Autumn Lodge in Berwyn Alberta that has been slated for closure by the North Peace Housing Board.

First of all July 7, 2017. Mr. Walisser finally came out to talk to us he started talking deficits and renovations and what horrible shape the Lodge was in, and that our home would be taken away from us by September 30, 2017 and we would have to choose a facility by July 24, 2017 or we may not get a room.

Needless to say we were sad and confused and under a lot of stress from that point on and the thing I do not understand is why none of our Family were notified of this closure so they could be with us.

On Tuesday of the next week we were asked where we wanted to move and if you said the name of Lodge that is where you were taken that week to choose a room.

No care or compassion was given to us as we were herded like a bunch of animals and then the bullying, coercing and intimidation started to hurry up and choose where we wanted to move.
I was having a hard time to decide and had thought I might move to Manning but the Recreation Coordinator from Berwyn talked to my Family and told them to not let me go to Manning that it was a horrible place, the food was not good and the people were horrible.

Then the next thing we knew North Peace Housing had not notified the Ministers Office of the closure and had not provided proper eviction notice to us the Residents so the date changed again and we would have to vacate by Nov. 30 but we had to choose a room by October 15 or there may not be a place for us.

This constant turmoil took a heavy toll on me and by August I was in trouble mentally and had contemplated suicide, so that I would not have to face being evicted from my home and moved away from all my Lodge Family. My Daughter talked to the Lodge staff about how I was feeling and she was told there was nowhere they could get any help for me or any of the Residents but they could talk to the Lodge Manager or a Lady from Peace River if we need to talk.

Then they went around asked the Residents if they wanted to talk to a Councillor some of us were asked in front of other Residents and of course we said no, first of all that is embarrassing and second why would we talk to the same people that were destroying our lives. My Family was able to bring in a Councillor for me which helped and I was put on suicide watch at the Lodge.

Good thing for my Family because I was shunned and while I was sitting in my room thinking about taking my life the Lodge Manager was clomping up and down my hallway whistling and jiggling her keys. This was the type of intimidation that North Peace Housing used to make us move faster and even after there was an attempted suicide in our Lodge Home, North Peace Housing did not bring in someone for us to talk to, this only added to the mental and emotional trauma we were dealing with already. Thank Goodness someone was able to get PACE to come in and talk to the ones of us that wanted to talk..

Many of the Residents were starting to move before our eviction date because they could not stand the stress. I spoke out and said that the level of care was not the same anymore and somehow that caused a huge traumatic experience for me, the Homecare staff came to my room and bawled me out and when I spoke up one of them started yelling at me to apologize to them and I was told that if they heard or saw us do anything wrong it was their place to correct us.

We are not children or animals and should not have been treated this way.

After this the Lodge Staff must have been advised to get me out of there because my quality of life changed drastically. The staff ignored me and some of them were heard at the staff table calling me filthy names and hoping that I moved out soon. My Family decided that I had to leave there and the only place that would work for me was Manning, the very place I was told not to go to because it was so bad.

I would ask that the Minister look into the way this closure was handled and the mental and emotional abuse we were forced to endure at the hands of the North Peace Housing CEO, the Board and the Staff. How can it be allowed for Seniors Citizens to be treated this way with no thought given to the impact a very poorly thought out decision on the part of the CEO and Board would have on us. I will not live long enough for the Mental and Emotional scars to heal. If this is not a case of Elder Abuse then there is something very wrong with our system.
23/02/18

March 10, 2018