A 42-bed shared residential accommodation has been proposed for a wing of Pioneer Manor being vacated as a result of the facility’s ongoing bed redevelopment project.
“There is a (housing) crisis, and I think the upper levels of government and our municipal government want to find solutions,” Greater Sudbury Abbeyfield Steering Committee member Evelyn Dutrisac told the city’s community services committee earlier this week.
“The Abbeyfield model is a social, economic and environmental use of housing,” she said of the seniors housing concept.
“We need to mobilize the volunteer sector to get involved and work with the government,” she said, adding that we can use the buildings we have to give seniors affordable housing and a place “they can call their home.”
Joined by fellow steering committee member Richard Meilleur and Abbeyfield Canada executive director JP Melville, who appeared remotely, the trio offered the committee a rundown of their proposal.
Abbeyfield Canada, a not-for-profit charity with 20 homes in Canada and chapters throughout the world, would lease the property from the city and work to leverage funding from upper levels of government to renovate the space and keep it affordable.
It’s not a boarding house or group home, Melville explained, clarifying that everyone has their own living space, including their own washroom, but that they share a common kitchen and common space.
Each building is fitted with support services, which can include cleaning services, health-care workers, homemaking, personal-care workers, recreational programming and transportation options, but it's still considered independent living.
“They’re a place that people choose to live together and share accommodations,” Melville said, clarifying that these facilities are operated by a volunteer board of directors who handle applications, employ staff and maintain the property.
Pioneer Manor director Aaron Archibald confirmed that there are not currently any plans for the area of Pioneer Manor the local Abbeyfield steering committee is looking at and that no formal study has been done to determine how the space should be used.
The local steering committee has been active since 2019, and Dutrisac said their goal is to create inclusive living spaces with people from various cultures and backgrounds and for them to be rich in volunteerism.
In addition to the space at Pioneer Manor, she said they are also looking at a property in Azilda. Abbeyfield Canada facilities are created in a wide range of buildings, from new builds, existing large houses and old schools.
This week’s committee meeting appearance was intended to keep the ball rolling, and Dutrisac said their goal is to keep the flow of communication open as they fill out their plan for Pioneer Manor with funding commitments.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
