ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The residents at Northfield Apartments want to know who knew what and when about the financial troubles of Family Service of Rochester, the nonprofit that operates the Enriched Housing Program they participate in.
“The staff here did the best they could, but I think the higher ups lied to everybody. And I think that’s horrible,” said Susan Ripton, a Northfield resident.
IRS documents filed by Family Service of Rochester show that the nonprofit has been buried in debt for years. In May, Financial Service gave the residents at Hudson Ridge and Danforth Towers days to move out. In June, residents at Jonathon Child were given the boot.
“When the other buildings closed, we asked them are we in danger and they said no you are safe. We promise you this building is not closing,” Ripton said.
Now in July, the residents at Northfield have to be out by month’s end. “They kept everything secret from us,” said Connie Dooley, another Northfield resident.
So why the secrecy? That’s what the residents’ attorney Jeff Nieznanski wants to know. “If the residents had been brought in earlier, you gotta think that there would have been options available to them,” Nieznanski said.
News10NBC took those concerns to Family Service. It blamed the Department of Health regulations for the Enriched Housing Program, the program Family Service was operating that provided support services for these residents. The Family Service statement reads in part:
“The regulations also control conditions for closing programs. A primary consideration of those regulations is to maintain complete secrecy about proposed program closures until such time as the NYS Dept. of Health approves a closure plan.”
But the closure plan the Department of Health approved says residents have until October 10 to move out. The DOH says Family Service alone made the decision to mandate moveout in weeks, not months, leaving residents mourning the loss of their homes.
“I loved it, yeah. Of course I did. And not only the place, but friends! It’s hard,” said Shirley Riddle, a Northfield resident.
News10NBC asked the Department of Health whether it approves of the seniors being given such a short time to move out. A spokesperson didn’t really answer the question but did say, “The Department is in close contact with Family Services of Rochester to ensure their closure plans are implemented appropriately, which includes ensuring residents’ have sufficient time and support to make informed decisions on their next home and services they choose.”
You can find this and the seven other investigations News10NBC has written about these displaced seniors in the Investigates section.
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