Tuesday 1 October 2013

A Cry for Help




What can you do when you find yourself alone in your fourth floor room, wheelchair-bound, caught short and you can’t get into your bathroom?
According to Jenny and Jen, the ladies do what they can to assist Bob when he soils himself etc, that is the plight of Bob who has been living like this for four long and grueling years in a building managed by Niagara Regional Housing. The upside of the fact that he fell, which happens frequently, in June 2013, and fact that he laid on the floor for five hours screaming for assistance is that he finally received a ‘life Line button’ to send an alert for help.
Each time Bob is rescued by the Fire Department they take him to the hospital to make sure he is unharmed.
Bob is diabetic and because of diabetes Bob has lost both of his legs and parts of his fingers, some of which show infection. The back of his hands are damaged from hitting narrow door frames.
Bob has no exit to the balcony in the event of an emergency such as fire. 
In this case even our fire department has turned its back on this amputee senior living in danger.  
    Jenny says that Bob was told that ‘in case of an emergency he should crawl out onto the balcony’.
Surely one could and should ask questions. How could any individual be left in such an appalling situation?
Where is oversight from the Niagara Regional Government?
There are five Niagara Regional Councillors sitting on the NRH board (Cost $9,000). Are they not aware of  Bob’s plight?
Was it not reported?
How many other handicapped seniors are suffering the same fate as Bob? Since October 25, 2013 our Niagara Regional Councillors have all been informed of Mr. Hansplant’s four year ordeal it will be interesting to see just what they will do about their NHS treatment of amputee seniors.
It should occur to everyone that Bob is not in a handicap facility.
It should be apparent to everyone that the conditions in which Bob is living would not meet the standards of the Lincoln County Humane Society were treatment of this type can bring a $60,000 fine and two years in prison.   
This story started out by asking a question.
The story of Bob’s four year ordeal was not one of temporary inconvenience while more suitable arrangements could be made. Frustration grew out of stonewalling, out of claims that it would cost $5K to widen a door, out of claims that there was no money to alleviate Bob’s dire situation.
No money! That seems to fly in the face of a comment spoken at the November 28, 2013 budget meeting Quote: “$200,000 is a drop in the bucket”!
Jenny and Jen tell of their being barred from meetings where Bob was threatened with eviction predicated on bogus claims of mental incapacity.
So, what did they do. In desperation Bob and his assisting angels called on Regional Councilor Petrowski for help. They invited Petrowski to attend one of the NHS meetings to witness just what was going on. Petrowski confirmed  that what he had been told was accurate. He could not sit by silently listening to excuses for what appeared to be a chronic dereliction of duty. He’s not that sort of person! He reminded the region representatives that financial resources existed to fix this victim’s basic crisis, which riled the ‘care givers/providers’ to the point of filing false harassment charges against Petrowski.
However, false harassment charges do not mitigate the fact that our Niagara Regional Housing is not only failing an amputee senior in their care but they are also failing their own ‘Vision’ statement: “Our vision is that the Niagara community will provide affordable, ACCESSIBLE and QUALITY housing for ALL residents”.
   It would appear that it is a matter of some trying to do something juxtaposed to some, who should be doing something, actually doing nothing.
   It’s a long, long way to the competitively priced Sherbrooke Community Center
   Instead of looking after an amputee senior they prefer to hide behind weasel words like process and protocol to castigate anyone who would dare challenge NRH conduct and performance.
   They proffer a vague excuse that after causing Mr. Hansplant to languish in his present situation of four years and denying alterations to his facilities they suddenly come forward with alternatives.
It is obvious that it was Regional Councillor Petrowski’s attention to this sordid matter that caused the NRH hierarchy’s sudden epiphany.
   Were those advancing the harassment charges concerned with the geneses of the situation or were they preoccupied with hiding their failures from any true advocate for the citizens of Niagara?
Then again, why investigate actual cause and effect when they have another juicy harassment charge to hang on a non-conforming Councillor?
In light of the continuing onslaught of assault against a dedicated councillor it is definitely time for a full investigation of all involved.





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Now our Chief fire prevention officer has the temerity to state the following...

“We want the places in this city where people live, work and visit to be safe,” said Chris Leonard, chief fire prevention officer. “The City’s fire inspectors work to ensure everyone in our community is safe, whether they are working a part-time job, living in a seniors’ home or renting a room at a students’ residence.”
 
For more Information Click Here