Press Release
The Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board continues to work towards improving seniors’ housing locally to ensure it is meeting the needs of the community.
“We are excited to announce renovation improvements at Green Manor in Fort Frances,” said Sandra Weir, the Integrated Services manager for the local DSSAB.
“We have made changes to two one-bedroom units to make them accessible, and changed three one-bedroom units to two two-bedroom accessible units,” she noted.
The need to start making changes became apparent in the DSSAB’s 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan compiled in 2014.
Even though the population of Rainy River District has declined in the past 10 years, one of the most pointed trends is the substantial aging of the district’s population.
This trend is expected to continue to increase.
The most frequently-highlighted issue for district seniors is the lack of options between living alone and long-term care.
For those in need of gradually escalating assistance, options are limited.
As a result, the DSSAB looked at what currently existed and developed a plan to modify and assist seniors as they age.
In 2015, the first phase of its initiative was a partnership with Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. to bring in assisted living services within the DSSAB’s housing projects in Fort Frances: Green Manor and Rose Manor.
The second phase was to work on the physical side of seniors’ buildings here.
“Our buildings weren’t designed 40 years ago with accessibility in mind,” Weir conceded.
“Our aging seniors have different needs and we want to ensure that we are able to serve seniors at all levels, in order to offer them a choice to age at home,” she noted.
With the ministry funding announcement for capital projects in 2016, renovations to five units at Green Manor took place over the winter months.
The DSSAB was able to convert and modify the units using 100 percent ministry-funded dollars.
Further to that, accessibility modification was made to the second floor laundry room and to a one-bedroom unit at Rose Manor.
“We are pleased with how the renovations have gone and we’ll be continuing to ensure we are meeting the changing needs of the seniors in our district,” said DSSAB CAO Dan McCormick.
An open house to showcase the renovations at Green Manor will be held Thursday, June 1 from 10 a.m.-noon.
Those interested in learning more may call the DSSAB at 274-5349.
