SIOUX LOOKOUT — After dozens of seniors were displaced by a fire that destroyed 11 apartment units at Patricia Plaza earlier this month, concerns are raised about added pressure to a continuing housing crisis in Sioux Lookout.
Sioux Lookout Mayor Doug Lawrance is grateful that no one was injured during the fire, which broke out on the morning of Feb. 4, and praised the fire department for their swift action.
However, in the aftermath, Lawrance admits that the fire raises questions about the need for more senior housing as the population continues to age.
“It realized the absolute need for more services in Sioux Lookout whether it be long-term care or home-care support. Some of the individuals who are living there, I think that there is a recognition they could be better supported either where they live or some of them are ready to be in long-term care or some other care facility,” Lawrance said in a Monday interview.
Lawrance said the fire has a “domino effect” on the community as a whole. With 11 fewer units available at Patricia Plaza, seniors on the waiting list will need to stay in their current accommodations.
“It precludes somebody else who needs the accommodation from moving into that unit or it puts them back into family situations which are probably already overcrowded. It slows the process of availability of all housing in all sectors of Sioux Lookout,” Lawrance said.
Kenora District Services Board CAO Henry Wall said there were 309 seniors on the board's housing waitlist across the district as of July 2022.
“It has ripple effects. As we were moving seniors around who were impacted by the fire, the units that were ready to be offered means that somebody on the waitlist is able to move in,” said Wall.
Wall agreed with Lawrance when he said that the Patricia Plaza fire shows the need for more services in Sioux Lookout and the surrounding area.
“This whole situation highlighted the need for more investments in the north when it comes to long-term care and extended care,” Wall said.
Long-term care beds in the region are in short supply. The Sioux Lookout Meno-Ya-Win Health Centre has 30 long-term care beds available.
Lawrance said that Sioux Lookout’s regional hospital services an area of 30,000 people, which means that the 30 long-term care beds available are 10 per cent of the provincial average of long-term care beds.
“We absolutely need long-term care which would have an impact not only on housing but on our hospital,” Lawrance said.
“That backup happens in the hallways of the hospitals, in people’s homes, and people living in unsuitable conditions, or living vulnerably alone in an apartment as a senior.”
