Dryden, Ont., seniors waiting years for housing even though assisted living building has vacancies

Dody Ridgway, 88, is among Dryden, Ont., residents who’ve long wanted to know when vacant housing units in a seniors’ building will be filled, as some have been on the Patricia Gardens wait list for years.

Now, after a rally July 21 and public outcry, they’re being told that some units are empty because the building — which offers assisted living rental units at market value — is in the process of adding partially subsidized units.

“I was on the list all these years, and the last five years for sure, I’ve needed it badly and there was nothing there for me,” said Ridgway. “Even though there were all these empty apartments, there was nothing there for me.”

Ridgway said she’s been on the Patricia Gardens wait list for 22 years. She first submitted an application for a market value unit in 2001 after her husband died.

Every year, she has been reassessed by a caseworker, but was told she didn’t meet the criteria. Nevertheless, she was kept on the list and at one point was told she had secured a permanent spot until she could qualify for a unit.

In the meantime, in 2014, she moved into an apartment. But for the last five years, as she’s waited to get into Patricia Gardens, she’s faced more health complications, including suffering a heart attack in June. Now, it’s hard for her to get around.

High cost to own and rent

There are calls for co-ordinated action across all levels of government to address Canada’s housing crisis, as affordability deteriorates and the country risks falling further behind on home construction. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the country isn’t on track to build the 3.5 million additional homes — on top of the current pace of building — that the agency says are needed to restore affordability by 2030.

On top of that, the costs for rental units have skyrocketed, making affordable, assisted living for people like Ridgway even more important.

Patricia Gardens, which is at 35 Van Horne Ave. across the street from the Dryden Public Library, is owned and operated by Dryden District Senior Services Incorporated. People applying to live there are assessed by Home and Community Care Support Services North West, to determine if they can manage in an independent living environment or if they need to be moved to long-term care.

Resident services include getting visits from health-care and other professionals. There are also on-site clinics supported by the Dryden Area Family Health Team, Kenora District Services Board Community Paramedicine Program and Hearing Life.

The July 21 rally outside Patricia Gardens was organized by registered nurse Susan Paquette and attracted about 20 people.

The following week, Dryden District Senior Services Inc., a non-profit organization, responded to the public outcry by issuing a media release on Thursday.

The release said work is underway to “improve access to supportive housing through community partnerships with Home and Community Care and other community partners.” The building will soon be adding what are called rent supplement units, which are partially subsidized by the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB).

“Historically the facility was a market rent building, however, with the changing community needs, there is an increasing number of seniors who need financial support in order to afford a home,” said the release.

“It has been necessary to keep units vacant during the transition. Intake for the vacant units has started and will continue until the units have been filled. This change will not affect current tenancies.”

Once this transition is complete, the building will have a mix of both market value units and rent supplement units. However, it remains unclear how many units will be dedicated for each type of housing, and what the timeline is for filling the vacancies.

Lack of transparency

Paquette said she is not satisfied with the news release and is seeking more answers.

A foot care nurse who often serves Patricia Gardens clients, she started sharing their concerns about the vacant units this spring. She believes there were eight vacant units in May and there are now between 12 and 13.

She wants to know:

• How many units are currently vacant.
• How many people are on the wait list.
• How many units will be dedicated as market rentals versus rent supplement units.
• How many community partners are involved in this transition, and who they are.

“When you live in a facility where there’s more and more empty units, knowing that there’s a very long wait list, they become suspicious,” Paquette said. “Transparency stops people from guessing. They don’t have to jump to conclusions. The rumours don’t have to start flying.”

Home and Community Care Support Services North West referred questions about the number of vacant units and the total number of units in the building to Dryden District Senior Services Inc., which has not responded to questions by CBC News as of publication time.

“We have no further information to offer at this time,” administrative secretary Colleen Hill said in an email Thursday.

But potential residents are still concerned about where they stand.

It’s well known Canada’s got severe shortages of affordable, suitable housing and Dryden, it being fairly small … everybody knows everybody, so everybody knows everybody else’s problems, and it hits harder. – Ethel Christina Johnson, 80

Ridgway, for one, is worried about what will happen to her place on the wait list, with the addition of the rent supplement units, and whether the change means she will be bumped even further down the list.

While Paquette said Ridgway’s situation is likely an exception to the norm — she has heard the wait list is typically between four and five years — the 88-year-old’s concerns are valid.

Ethel Christina Johnson, 80, is also on the wait list for a market value unit at Patricia Gardens.

Johnson was born and raised in Dryden, and moved back to her hometown at the end of March 2022.

She said she is just above the cut-off to qualify for rent-geared-to-income housing, and it was “luck or divine intervention” that got her into a privately rented basement apartment in October 2022.

“I was assessed a year ago June and put on the waiting list [for Patricia Gardens], and at the time, I was told I could expect [to wait] four and a half years.”

Johnson said the apartment she’s currently living in isn’t perfect. She relies on a walker to get around and has to climb stairs to get outside her unit, and neighbours in her building work during the day and can’t always check up on her.

“I’m not getting better, I’m getting worse. So eventually, I will have to find a place like Patricia Gardens … I’m on several waiting lists,” she said.

“I’m listed for market value apartments, but there’s none in Dryden, so I’d have to move to Kenora, Sioux Lookout, or Thunder Bay or Fort Frances, or somewhere where they had the housing.”

Johnson, Ridgway and others wonder how Patricia Gardens will manage to balance the needs of those seeking market rental units and those who have been waiting for rent supplement units provided by KDSB.

Dryden needs more housing units of all kinds, but that comes at a high cost, said Johnson. However, as baby boomers continue to age, the need for more seniors’ housing isn’t going away anytime soon, she said.

“It’s well known Canada’s got severe shortages of affordable, suitable housing and Dryden, it being fairly small … everybody knows everybody, so everybody knows everybody else’s problems, and it hits harder I think.”

Paquette is considering holding a public meeting about the vacancies at Patricia Gardens as she continues to search for answers.

“It’s a perfect facility for our seniors. It’s not huge and we could definitely use more, but it’s close to everything. It was built with a lot of local funding — a lot of locals put their money into the construction of Patricia Gardens and they feel that it’s their own.”