Seniors devastated by decision not to rebuild care home after fire

Former residents of a low-income seniors’ villa in Carievale say they are at a loss after learning the province is refusing to rebuild their home.

After the building was damaged by a fire in January, six seniors who previously lived at the Carie-Villa are struggling to find a long-term solution that will keep them in the village, near their families and loved ones.

Patricia Henderson, 79, said she feels heartbroken.

“I could not imagine that you’d just leave people stranded if you were the one responsible (for rebuilding),” Henderson said. “It’s just ‘Too bad, we’re not going to fix it, it’s your problem.’ ”

Catherine Finkle, another former resident, said she had to move in with her daughter in January. That took some arranging, and Finkle said her granddaughter has given up her bedroom for the past six months, sleeping on a small bed in the living room to accommodate her grandmother.

“They’ve treated me like gold, but it’s not the same as having your own place,” Finkle said.

Finkle feels a loss of independence. She plans to move into her own house soon, but that is also a temporary measure because, at 77, she said she doesn’t have the ability to keep up with the work a house demands anymore.

“Time is not on our side,” Henderson said.

Life at the villa

Henderson moved into the Carie-Villa last May.

“It was wonderful,” she said, recalling the building and community.

After hearing from her doctor that she shouldn’t be keeping her own home anymore because of worsening arthritis, and wanting to be closer to her husband in the nearby town of Gainsborough, Henderson said she made the decision to move into the low-income seniors home.

Henderson lost her husband only a few months later, but said she couldn’t be more grateful for the family she has gained through the villa.

Henderson and Finkle said the villa’s community, which gathered at least once a week for coffee and conversations together, would make sure everyone had groceries if someone was making a trip, and worked together to keep the building spotless.

“I loved it there,” Henderson said.

Finkle agreed.

“It was the best we ever had, because we were one big family down there,” Finkle said. “Just to be able to walk out your door and knock on somebody else’s door, it was always so comforting.”

The women said they have stayed in touch with other former residents, and all want nothing more than to return to living with their community in Carievale.

Catherine Finkle (left) on the day of a wedding, celebrating with her daughter and granddaughter in the Carie-Villa common room. (Rhonda Halliday/Submitted)

Damaged beyond feasible repair?

Henderson and Finkle said they don’t understand why the building is beyond repair.

The fire reportedly started in the boiler room, leaving the maintenance room completely destroyed. The room next door, a guestroom for visitors, was also destroyed.

One other room had substantial water and smoke damage, but various reports indicate all other rooms were largely untouched aside from minor smoke damage.

Jace Brown, fire chief for the local RM, said his crews believed the building would be salvageable when they left the scene after putting out the fire on Jan. 11.

“We’ve saved other buildings in town that I thought had lots of damage,” Brown said. “You would think three rooms would be feasible (to repair).”

Finkle’s daughter, Rhonda Halliday, said they’ve learned that a four-plex portion of Carie-Villa — which is  separate from the larger 10-unit building — was not damaged by the fire and could remain operational.

The smaller building, however, doesn’t have a common room large enough to accommodate the kind of community gatherings the villa residents loved so much.

The decision not to rebuild has left the former residents and their families frustrated, trying to figure out what to do next.

“I just didn’t understand why we couldn’t build something at some point,” Henderson said.

High cost, low demand

It was nearly five months after the fire before the villa’s former residents and their families heard anything from the provincial government.

A public meeting was held in May, but Halliday said she didn’t hear about it until just hours in advance.

Halliday said there was a scramble to find members of the town council and other stakeholders to attend.

In the end, two board members and two town councillors were able to make the 5 p.m. meeting, where Halliday said the provincial government explained it would not be rebuilding the villa. The town’s only option, Halliday said, would be to buy the property and repair it at their own cost.

Saskatchewan Housing Corporation executive director Roger Parenteau said only three or four units suffered damage, but an insurance investigation revealed it would cost about $1.6 million to rebuild and repair the villa completely.

The decision against rebuilding, Parenteau said, came down to low occupancy and demand.

He said the building was at 60 per cent occupancy at the time of the fire, and demand was too low for the repair costs to be considered viable.

When asked what portion of the bill insurance would cover, Parenteau called it a “complicated issue.” Because it’s self-insured, he said much of the repair costs would fall directly on the corporation rather than being covered by an insurance company.

“That is the way that the corporation has always operated,” Parenteau said.

According to Parenteau, there are numerous vacancies in social housing across the province, with several options for the former Carie-Villa residents to be placed within 50 kilometres of Carievale. However, that option would separate the former residents, and they would not be guaranteed a chance to remain in the village they once called home.

Parenteau said the housing authority has been working with former residents to help them find appropriate housing, but Finkle and Henderson both said they have yet to hear from the government directly.

Parenteau also defended the time it took to inform the former Carie-Villa residents of their decision, saying five months is a normal time frame for an investigation and due diligence before a decision is made.

“We’ve delivered the news and we believe we’ve made the right decision for this project in this community,” he said.

“If they feel strongly about the demand and the need for that size of a project in their community, then they’ll have that opportunity to rebuild it.”

The community is currently working to gather signatures on a petition asking the province reconsider rebuilding Carie-Villa.

Former residents left heartbroken

“They’re wrong,” Halliday said of the corporation’s decision not to rebuild. “When you’re born and raised in those areas, that’s where you want to be. That’s where your families are.”
Finkle called it a “rotten” decision.

“We went in there thinking it was going to be our home,” she said. “It was a pretty hard kick in the teeth.”

Wendy Paul was the building manager for Carie-Villa. She said the government doesn’t understand just how important the community was.

“It’s the residents’ home, but it’s a big family for them all, and when they’re not together, they’re lost,” Paul explained.

She said she was upset and frustrated by the decision, and disagreed with the housing corporation’s forecast that future demand for the home won’t support the rebuild. Paul said she has recently spoken with two people who asked about moving into the villa.

“That bunch of people became very close-knit,” Halliday said. “Yes, they have a roof over their head, but they’re very displaced. And they’re all very sad. It is heartbreaking.”

Halliday said her heart broke while telling her mother that the housing corporation would not rebuild.

“I am so angry,” Halliday said. “I feel like they just really failed us.”

With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick