Here is a reblog I wrote last year regarding The Neighbourhood Group and What they Do For The Community

 The pandemic taught us many lessons and spotlighted numerous serious flaws in the machine we have labeled, "Society."

With great embarrassment it opened our eyes to the incompetence and neglect our Elders living in many of Canada's "Long Term Care" Residences, are being subjected to.

I was appalled by what I learned via the various media outlets and daily newscasts as the pandemic wreaked havoc on the very lives of our beloved Elders.

I was ashamed and brokenhearted when we reduced the inhumanity of what was taking place by making it a daily "statistic" on the news.

The number of deaths in the residences was becoming a lead story on each and every news outlet and each new report grew more horrific.

We should be ashamed of what we allowed to happen in these homes. I am sure many people are. People who do care and genuinely want to change the way we are "warehousing" our Elders.

People like the devoted staff and all who make up "The Neighbourhood Group.

An agency who's approach to providing a better way of care and life for seniors is one that the government should take notice of and use as a base model for all future plans of elderly care.

Please don't think that I believe that all long term facilities are dungeons of despair. I am positive that as long as the system is not stressed the homes are somewhat adequate. Yet, far from efficient.

Many of these long term care facilities have residents that could easily live in Senior's Housing as long as they had the benefits of PSW visits and the overwatch of Social Workers. Buildings such as the Neighbourhood Link residence I reside in.

As the Covid Pandemic taught us, once the pressure and danger began at these homes their systems collapsed and the Domino effect spread from facility to facility across the country.

Most facilities were and still are grossly under staffed, under funded and have under trained staff who are lacking the training needed in dealing with emergencies.

There lays a great divide between "Long Term Care Facilities" and "Seniors Residences."

But, must there be?

I believe that the dedicated staff of The Neighbourhood Link and Neighbourhood Homes, (The Neighbourhood Group) have the solution to providing a better style of care and housing of our Elders and bridging that divide.

They, (TNG), already have residences that are unlike any other I have heard of or come across in my 65 years.

I am speaking from first hand experience as for the past year and four months I have been Blessed to live in one of their flagship residences. I am in their Cecilia Murphy Residence on Toronto's Coatsworth Crescent.

From the exterior my building comes across as a very well maintained condominium complex or high end apartment building.

To refer to or label here as a "building" would be an insult.

It is definitely not an apartment building. It certainly is a "residence". As soon as you step into the lobby you feel the difference.

You immediately feel the familiarization of being in a "community".

You feel "at home." Simply said.

There are many Seniors laying dormant, for lack of a better word, in medical facilities that do not necessarily need constant care or the entrapment of loneliness that accompanies living in care.

Seniors who have become in-patients for no other reason than they have no one who can provide them with daily assistance and/or medical care.

Many of our Elders simply have no family members who are capable or in the position to devote the time needed to assist them with daily life.

Not all Seniors living in our existing long term care facilities are incapable of caring for themselves. Many are quite able to live in an apartment as long as they have access to the support of PSW's and nurses where necessary.

Places such as the building I live in. (Excuse me, I must correct myself, I live in a "community" not a "building".)

Picture this .......

A well maintained residence of one hundred and twenty four units. All the residents are a minimum of fifty-nine years old.

Some are fully capable of carrying on everyday life without the assistance of Social Workers or PSW's. Some who need the occasional assistance daily or perhaps a few visits weekly from a Personal Support Worker, a Social Worker or perhaps a Nurse.

And there are others who do need supervision twenty-four hours per day due to dementia or medical limitations, but do not need to be bedded down in a medical based facility. Not disabled to the extent that they must be "warehoused" in a medical based facility at a high cost to their quality of life and an even higher cost to the health care system.

Now, picture this ......

Within this building there are units devoted to providing care to three or four Seniors that need that twenty-four hour assistance. Where the PSW's are there all day and night. A group home setting as it were.

These Seniors have a far better quality of life than they would have if they were being warehoused in a facility that is medically based and run as a medical institution.

Here they are living in a "home". They receive far better care due to the fact that they have staff dedicated to and assigned to providing care strictly to them and not having ten or more patients spread in various rooms of an institution. The staff are not weighed down with having to run from room to room, patient to patient to try and provide quality care.

In this same building you have other units which are housing, not warehousing, seniors who are ambulatory and need only the occasional assistance of a Nurse, Social Worker or PSW. Residents that can go out for walks and perhaps visit a library or a coffee shop. Seniors who have a far better quality of life than that they may have if they were living in a long term care facility.

This residence also has units for seniors who are very capable of performing daily tasks and are fully ambulatory. Their age being the only downfall in their lives. Residents who need and seek solitude in their "Golden years".

Buildings such as the few owned and/or operated the Neighbourhood Group.

My situation is one whereas I may need occasional support. Depending on the ups and downs of my various medical maladies. Fifteen months ago I was living in a dirty rooming house on Dawes Road in Toronto's East end. Due to post cancer medical difficulties and complications from the traumas I experienced in the four years prior I was near death. In fact my group of care givers and doctors had giving me less than two years left to live. I was literally dying. My condition was so severe that I was placed at the top of the waiting list to obtain seniors housing.

An acquaintance suggested I contact Neighbourhood Link Services and apply for geared to income housing. I took their advice and reached out to the NLS housing worker, Ashley Featherstone, and was immediately surprised with the efficient and fastidious action she partook to obtain me a suitable place.

Fast forward twenty-one days and I was offered and accepted, without haste, a unit in their Cecilia Murphy Residence. It was the second unit I was offered. The first unit I viewed was within a Toronto Housing building next door to the one I am now living in. I turned down that opportunity as the building was extremely noisy, music blaring both within and outside the building, the units looked as if the maintenance was poorly kept and the residents were a mixer of old and young alike. At first I was tempted to accept that unit, but my gut instinct told me to wait and see other opportunities. The next day I was invited to view the unit that I now live in.

I was so very impressed with the sincere actions of Ms. Featherstone and all the staff at Neighbourhood Link that I was compelled to write her and her superiors and give my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for their assistance. I felt extremely Blessed to have been offered the opportunity to live a far greater improved home setting.

Fast forward once more to a year later and now my doctors are dumbfounded and amazed at how my health has improved. Although I still have many health problems I am no longer deteriorating in either the health or the emotional sense. I have gained weight. I am walking at least five kilometers each and every day. I am no longer being held captive by depression. I am ALIVE!

I am a completely different person than I was prior to moving into this unit.

I am truly Blessed and I strongly feel that just by living here I have been given the gift of a life extended. I am so grateful that on my one year anniversary I wrote Ms. Featherstone and the higher ups at the Neighbourhood Group to give them thanks and kudos for all they have done for me.

On October 12th, 2022 I was given the opportunity to attend the TNG's Board Alumni Group annual meeting and give my appreciation and thanks in person. I also partook of a question and answer session whereas I could convey this to the Alumni.

I listened closely to each and every speaker and learned that TNG have embarked on a quest to obtain more buildings that they can convert to seniors homes. They have many projects in planning and are hoping that perhaps they can receive more assistance in obtaining properties with the help of the Federal, Provincial and Municipal levels of governments.

I left that meeting with a new outlook of seniors care and the obstacles organizations such The Neighbourhood Group face. I feel that they are not getting the recognition they deserve and need.

I am actually trying to discover a way that I can help raise awareness to what they are trying to accomplish and what type of supports they need.

With all the city owned properties that are sitting empty and eventually falling victim to demolition, you would think they would offer up such properties to organizations such as TNG. Or the various parcels of government owned lands that are just sitting there or are being giving to greedy developers to build overpriced condos upon. These properties could be better utilized by groups such as TNG rather than turned over to developers who have no intentions of building affordable housing.

TNG caters to all ages, not just Seniors Homes. They have a variety of buildings in existence already. I do not understand why they are not being recognized by the powers that be and given more opportunities to build residences for all ages.

And this is where YOU can help. Write your politicians and voice your support for organizations such as theirs. Ask why the city or province cannot offer up properties to be used for affordable housing and seniors care. With all this hype on the news and various other media outlets speaking about affordable housing now is the time to speak out for these organizations.

The politicians will do study after study and spend ridiculous amounts of taxpayers dollars trying to look as if they are actually doing something when in reality they are speaking loud to appease the masses without sacrificing a few dollars or acres of land to people who will definitely get right on board and build homes for those less fortunate.

It is a time in man that we are at the crossroads of change.

And change starts with you and me and the everyday citizens.

Thank you for taking the time to read my rants and I ask of you to speak out. Shout out! Let the Mayor and Premier know that these properties and parcels of land should be offered to the development of affordable housing and thusly help our elders and our homeless.

Also, check out The Neighbourhood Group and show them the support they deserve. You never know, it could be your voice that makes a difference in the lives of many.