Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Be Aware--Private Care and Housing

In British Columbia ,the field of assisted living and independent living is pretty unregulated. They have to meet standards of buildings and health department, but in terms of services and contracts, it is a wide open field. At this point, it is not even clear if facilities are under the guidance and jurisdiction of the Rental Controls. Assuming they are not, if you are asked to leave, you have no recourse legally. That means that the consumer is at risk, and must carry the burden of protecting him or herself.

One thing to be especially aware of is, under what circumstances, can someone be evicted? Ask them to be specific when you are talking with a facility. Ask for examples of when they have evicted people. Ask them about how they tried to work around problems tht they encountred with people. Ask them what kind of conditions, physical and emotional are they not prepared to deal with, and how they will decide when the point is reached that they can no longer cope.

You have to ask these questions so you can plan your future, or the future of someone you care about.

Remember too, that, most likely, the first person you are meeting when you deal with a care or housing facility is a Marketing Manager. That means just what it says--their job is to sell. What they tell you, and what actually occurs, may be different. Before you make any plans, if you have questions, make sure you talk to the Care Director, or whoever actually makes the decisions about who the facility will admit or evict.