Duane Hicks
The Assisted Living Action Group is hoping to attract paid members in order to carry through with the next phase of its mission to see an assisted living facility built in Fort Frances.
Vice-chair June Caul said the group is asking anyone who’s interested to donate $100 and become a voting member of the A.L.A.G. board.
This money will be use to pay for a feasibility study necessary to keep moving forward toward its goal.
This study will uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed venture, identify the resources required to carry through with it, where the facility should be built, and, ultimately, determine the prospects for its success.
“We’re working on nothing right now and we’re trying to see if people will help us,” noted Caul.
“People are so generous in town and if people would be willing to donate $100 to the cause, that would be great,” she added.
Because A.L.A.G. is not incorporated at this time (this is something that will come after the feasibility study), it cannot issue tax receipts.
Anyone who donates will get a receipt, though, and A.L.A.G. will look into whether or not these can be used for tax purposes when the group does become incorporated.
Fellow A.L.A.G. member Diane Maxey said people can trust that A.L.A.G. is setting aside this money strictly to be used for a feasibility study, which is estimated to cost roughly $2,500-$5,000.
Donors also become a voting member of the A.L.A.G. board, said Caul, noting meetings usually are held twice a month at Green Manor on Shevlin Avenue.
“But no matter, anybody is welcome to come to our meetings to see how things are progressing,” she clarified.
Current A.L.A.G. members have paid their $100, some as far back as last spring, while more people are coming forward all the time.
For instance, Caul was contacted last week by an individual from Ottawa who read about A.L.A.G. in the Fort Frances Times.
“My parents are both in their 80s and have been struggling to decide what to do—keep their house, move to an apartment in Fort Frances (not a lot of choices out there from what I understand), move to Winnipeg (where all my father’s specialists are), or move to Ottawa (where I am but they would know no one other than me),” the individual, who chose to remain anonymous, wrote in an e-mail to Caul.
“I know they would really rather stay in Fort Frances but it is becoming harder for them to cope on their own,” the person noted.
“I wholeheartedly support the work you are doing to get an assisted living facility.
“I was wondering if you would allow me to become a member even though I live in Ottawa. I am happy to pay the $100 fee.”
A.L.A.G. has been working hard for the past few weeks, and Maxey stressed the feasibility study is very important to keep the momentum going.
“This is something we are looking at now, not down the road,” she remarked.
“We want this to happen soon—all of it.
“I think that’s one of the main questions that everybody asks: ‘When do you start building it?’” added Maxey.
“People are excited.”
“We are going to build it,” affirmed Caul, vowing the project is not going to fade away before it’s completed.
“No matter what we have to do, it is going to happen,” she pledged.
Caul said A.L.A.G.’s goal is to build an assisted living facility in Fort Frances. This won’t be a co-venture with a private developer but a public, non-profit operation.
While many details will be addressed in the feasibility study, Caul said the facility will be built using funds obtained through a loan, as well as any grants or other funding sources available.
Once built, any revenue (such as rent) will go into paying off the loan, as well as the facility’s operating costs, but not to make any profit beyond that, she added.
Anyone interested in making a donation and getting involved with A.L.A.G. can contact Caul at 274-2209.
