Seniors at Sudbury apartment building haven’t had a working elevator in almost half a year

Sudbury seniors struggle without an elevator It's been almost six months since residents at Place Nolin have had the use of a functioning elevator.

Residents at Place Nolin in Sudbury haven’t had a working elevator in nearly six months.

The senior’s building is a 40-unit, five-level building, run independently by its own board of directors.

Residents were informed June 24 that the elevator was going to take three months to fix.

Tenants are still waiting.

Laurette Eckhoff is in her 70s and has lived at Place Nolin for over a year. Her sister, Rita Belanger, is in her 80s and is legally blind. She’s lived at Nolin for 18 years.

"I can go to the grocery store and I'll pick her up a few things that she needs and I've done her laundry because she can't do it at all, you know, going up and down," Eckhoff said.

“She can't. (My sister) has been out maybe four, five times in the last four months … She has so many problems coming back up the stairs that she has to sit down for about three days."

Belanger is awaiting knee replacement surgery after falling down the stairs.

"I'm sad," she said.

"It's bad enough that I lost my sight. Then I have to turn around and lose my independence to go outside in the yard. All summer long. Been stuck in here. That's not fair. It's not fair to me. And it's not fair to the other people in this building."

Amber Taylor, Eckhoff and Belanger’s niece, said she was very angry.

"I’m frustrated not only just for my aunts who live here, but the residents who live here. It's a 65-plus building," Taylor said.

"Just knowing my aunts, mental health is a huge issue when you can't leave your apartment."

Chairs have been stationed at some of the landings going up the stairs, but Eckhoff and Belanger said they don’t believe enough has been done.

They've been given a list of food delivery services, but Eckoff said they require use of the internet, which many older people don't have.

"How are you going to get food delivered? You know you can't do it without the internet," she said.

"They won't do it over the phone."

Anne Belanger’s 88-year-old mother, Denise, is also a resident at Nolin. Denise has one kidney and was hospitalized for 10 days months ago when she was told her kidney was at 10 per cent of its functioning capacity.

She said her quality of life has suffered because she’s afraid of falling and injuring herself, so she limits the amount of time she goes out.

'My whole life has changed'

"My whole life has changed. I used to line dance every week at Parkside," Denise said.

"It’s completely different."

Board president Rhea Laferriere said the delay in getting the elevator fixed is being caused by a missing part.

"I don't know where (the part) comes from," Laferriere said.

"I'm not sure. USA, I think from USA, and I don't know if it's because of the mail. I don't know anything, but it's not here."

"Well, just be patient," she added, when asked if there were any messages she wanted to share with frustrated residents.

"We do care, but it's out of our hands … And like it doesn't matter even if we care if the work can't be done.”

Laferriere also added that "it’s not all tenants who are upset. Some of them are good."

Belanger said she’s frustrated because questions to management and the board have gone unanswered.

"When people inquire to the management, well, they're being told be patient," she said.

"But yet they're not giving details of what's going on and how long it's going to take. So, this is urgent right now. Somebody is going to get even more hurt than they already are."

Waiting for a part

Laferriere said some people want answers that the board doesn't have.

"There was communication all the time," she said.

"They were given an update, but they want to know when it will open. We don't know. So, we can't tell them a date because we don't know."

A letter sent out by staff Dec. 4 acknowledges many people are frustrated.

"The circumstances causing the delays are largely out of anyone’s control but are being addressed urgently and diligently by all parties involved," the letter said.

The letter mentions there was a TSSA inspection conducted on Nov. 21 and 22, when it was determined the elevator has deficiencies that must be addressed before it can be safely put into service.

Belanger reached out to Sudbury MPP Jamie West to share their frustrations. In a statement to CTV News, West's office said:

"The situation at Place Nolin is worrisome. Tenants have told me the elevator has not been operational for almost six months. Access to a dependable elevator is essential, especially for seniors and those with mobility issues."

This isn’t the first time Nolin has had an inoperable elevator. In 2020, the elevator was out for almost five months.

The board said there is not a timeline for when the elevator will be up and running.