A group of Toronto seniors is urging the city to change course after a centre that runs programs at their housing complex lost its city funding and was ordered to cease operations. The seniors took their appeal to City Hall in an effort to save the programming they rely on. The Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation, for its part, says the funding was cut for a good reason.
For more than 15 years, over 100 seniors have received services from the LA Centre for Active Seniors, near Bloor Street in Toronto's west end. The centre has run a food bank and social programming at their housing complex. Now the city has cut its funding, and the Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation has ordered the centre to cease programming by the end of the month.
According to letters from the city and the housing corporation, the decision to terminate the programming followed a number of concerns. They include reports from seniors describing experiences of verbal abuse and feeling intimidated, along with other complaints about mismanagement. The corporation says the move was not one it took lightly.
The centre's executive director rejects the allegations and says the organization never had a real opportunity to address them. He worries the city is relying on information from a small group of disgruntled tenants. He challenged officials to provide examples so they could be refuted, arguing the city and the corporation have only heard one side of the story.
The accusations, he said, came from a former member of the board and a former volunteer. The former volunteer told CBC News that the director had yelled in his face and at seniors, and that he would not attend to those with medical issues. The director denies this, and other seniors at the complex did too, saying the centre had made them feel at home.
One of the letters alleges the centre reallocated funds beyond permitted thresholds without approval, which the director also denies. He said the spending is already documented and again invited officials to share whatever they were reviewing so it could be addressed. More than 100 seniors signed a petition supporting the programs, with some saying they were never consulted or asked how they felt about the situation.
The Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation said it could not comment on specifics, but stressed that ending the relationship with the centre was not a decision it took lightly, adding that significant efforts had been made to reach an agreement. A spokesperson for the mayor's office said services at the complex would continue uninterrupted through other providers. For the seniors, the centre has been a defence against isolation, offering exercises, board games, bingo and trips.