Tenants and their loved ones say they’re worried and confused, after learning that a contract supporting 31 assisted living suites at a North Vancouver seniors' residence is coming to an end.
When Dean Mackie helped his mother Lorene move into Chartwell Churchill House in March 2024, he said it felt like they won the lottery.
“It takes years in the system to go to the level where you get supportive housing like this,” he said. “And to have a place that’s nice and well run and right here on the North Shore was a triple-win, because we’ve lived on the North Shore for many years.”
Mackie said the staff and level of care at the facility, run by Chartwell Retirement Residences, is exceptional and has brought comfort to him and his 82-year-old mother who lives with dementia.
But the mood shifted when Mackie received a “cryptic” email a few weeks ago from the house manager at the residence, instructing him and Lorene to both attend an in-person meeting where they would be given an update.
“And I said, ‘Sure, I can come. What is the update?’ And she said, ‘You have to come to the meeting,’” Mackie said. “Aha. Anytime somebody sets you up for an in-person conversation, you know that something big is coming down.”
On the afternoon of March 31, they sat down in a room “jam packed” with other residents and loved ones.
“At 1:30 p.m. on the nose, they asked for the door to be closed,” Mackie said. “And they announced that [Vancouver Coastal Health and BC Housing’s] contract with Chartwell is coming to an end, and as a result, all the subsidized assisted-living residents will have to find someplace new to live.”
That didn’t go over well, he said.
“One resident asked what would happen to them after 24 months if they were still there. Why weren’t the grandfathers ‘grandfathered-in’ to be able to stay? One resident mused out loud that medical assistance in dying (MAID) might be a preferable option,” Mackie said.
Unlike the care his mother has received from front line staff at the residence, Mackie said the communication from Chartwell, VCH and BC Housing has lacked compassion, and there’s been little of it.
“It’s a pretty big deal, obviously,” he said. "I received that one email announcing the meeting, and then one follow-up email … and that’s it."
“And each time I look for any new announcements, or anything like that, it’s radio silence,” he added.
Will residents be forced or 'encouraged' to leave?
According to Mackie, it's still unclear whether his mother will be forced to leave Churchill House.
Chartwell spokesperson Mary Perrone Lisi said the company’s contract with BC Housing and VCH came to a natural conclusion in 2021.
“Since that time, we have explored various opportunities to renew the agreement; however, after extensive discussions, a decision was made not to renew the contract,” she said in a written statement. “While we recognize this outcome is disappointing for impacted residents and families, we remain deeply committed to supporting them with compassion and care throughout the transition."
Over the next 1.5 to two years, Churchill House will gradually shift to a private model that supports Chartwell-managed suites, she added.
A spokesperson from BC Housing said that residents living in the suites, which are subsidized by the province and VCH, won’t have their rents increased to market rates while living at Churchill House.
“Over the next 18 to 24 months, Vancouver Coastal Health will help impacted residents and their families find other suitable housing and care services with as little disruption as possible,” the spokesperson said, adding that the vacated units will switch to private market rates, which start at $3,785 per month for a studio apartment.
While BC Housing would not directly respond to questions if residents would be evicted after the 24-month period, the provincial body said it “stands behind” a previous statement to CityNews that no one will be evicted.
That statement reads that residents can stay on at their current rate, even beyond the 24-month transition, but that they will be “encouraged” to leave.
Neither Chartwell nor BC Housing would say what encouraging residents to leave will look like.
With just 91 subsidized assisted living beds on the North Shore – with a third of those soon to be lost – Mackie said it would be “devastating” if his mother had to move to Richmond, Gibsons or Downtown Vancouver.
“Our plan was to keep mom here as long as possible, because she loves it here … and she knows if she were to move across one of the many bridges that I wouldn’t be able to visit as often,” he said. “She has two grandchildren here on the North Shore.”
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