Correction: An earlier version of this story and headline indicated that a state directive ordered people to move out of their adult-care apartments. The notice came from the provider, and informed residents the programs were being shut down but would not close until residents were discharged to an appropriate provider or received medical clearance to stay.
Dozens of senior citizens and people with disabilities requiring adult care services are scrambling to find housing after the state health department discovered a slew of issues in the enhanced housing provider at the East Danforth and Hudson Ridge towers.
The Department of Health described the issues as “immediate risks to resident health and safety." Provider Family Service Communities voluntarily surrendered its license and abruptly began shutting down shut down the programs last week.
Enriched housing provides long-term care, housekeeping, food and other services. But virtually none of those services were being rendered, said City Councilmember Michael Patterson. Hudson Ridge is in his northeast district, and he has been working with tenants to help them navigate what comes next.
“Simply put, the residents that I’ve spoke to that are in this program, that live at Hudson Ridge, are terrified,” Patterson said. “They don’t know why they have to move, they don’t think it’s fair that they have to move, and many of them don’t want to move.”
In total, around 75 residents were told to leave the buildings or get a doctor's clearance to stay. Danforth, on West Avenue, and Hudson Ridge, on Seneca Manor Drive overlooking the Route 104 expressway, are both owned by the Rochester Housing Authority. The push to vacate was first reported by News10NBC.
“As a result of these findings and because the operator agreed it lacked the resources to correct the identified violations, the operator initiated an expeditious emergency closure of the Enriched Housing Programs and the transfer of residents to appropriate placements that could serve their needs,” a statement from the state Department of Health reads.
Tenants were told the services were being canceled effective next Wednesday, May 28, according to the RHA. A notice from Family Service Communities put the end date as this Saturday, May 24.
The issues in the services discovered in a routine state inspection were wide-ranging. Among them were Family Service Communities lack of oversight and monitoring of narcotics, failure to meet the single meal threshold for nutrition requirements, lack of supervision of clients who required it, and accepting of clients with care needs they had no ability to serve.
Among the clients in the latter were residents who required tube-feeding. Following the discovery of these issues, Family Service Communities acknowledged it had no ability to fix these issues and opted to voluntarily surrender its licenses to operate at the sites.
A state spokesperson said the cancelling of services was "carried out by the operator in an expedited manner as their staffing was insufficient and funding was depleted."
In a statement, RHA said it would not be evicting anyone from the buildings.
RHA also said it is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back rent from Family Service Communities. The organization is supposed to pay rent to RHA on behalf of the tenants, including through social security payments.
Patterson said the figure came in at $400,000.
“This is extremely concerning and a disregard for the residents of our facilities — people who rely on these services for their basic safety and well-being,” the statement reads. “The Housing Authority has been working in good faith with Family Services for months to recover six figures in back rent that they were supposed to pay on behalf of the residents who paid them to do so, yet our outreach has been met with silence or vague responses at best.”
A message left Wednesday evening with Family Service Communities was not immediately returned.
A letter from the organization to residents, families, and advocates, obtained by WXXI News, said the programs would not officially close until all residents have found new placement or received medical clearance.
"Throughout this transition, our top priority remains the consistent and compassionate delivery of services," the letter reads. "All residents will continue to receive the full range of care and support currently in place until their transition is complete."
Roshell Lucius is an independent contractor provide home health aid at Hudson Ridge. She said Family Service Communities had been pushing for tenants to leave the building over the past couple days.
On Wednesday, she estimated about a dozen tenants left the building.
WXXI/Natasha Kaiser
"I had to stay here late just so they (Family Community Services) wouldn't try to convince them to leave," Lucius said. "...They're saying they're going to put you here, you're going to end up in a shelter, they're trying to scare them out."
Lucius said while the program shut down quickly, the issues with the provider had been well known for years.
"The food wasn't even fit to feed my own dog," she said.
Luis Lespier has lived at Hudson Ridge for about three years. He said that the problems in the services provided at the building had become obvious among tenants in his time there.
"I usually pay about $20 more in my rent monthly, and one time, it was that I owed money when I was sure I didn't owe any money," Lespier said. "So I had to go to the office and claim. I mean, how can that money disappear?"
There appears to be no problem with the buildings themselves, according to inspection reports the state provided to WXXI News. Those reports, the most recent in 2023, show Danforth was cited for six violations between 2022 and 2023, all related to records and reporting -- including not filing a quarterly report in 2022 and failing to supply records in 2023. Hudson Ridge had four violations, the most recent being in 2022 for failing to provide minimum services to its residents.
City records show Danforth has two code violations, one for an external infestation last year, and the other for a required updated inspection record for a piece of equipment earlier this year. Hudson Ridge has no violations, records show.
When asked what specific violations led to the emergency closure, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said to file a Freedom of Information Law request.
