Living on the Edge

Loose oversight of personal care homes jeopardizes the most vulnerable.

By Liz Spikol
Add Comment Add Comment | Comments: 2 | Posted Jun. 18, 2008

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Bale says family members need to do research before they place a relative. But what about people without family? "It's a tough situation, no doubt," she says.



Faulkner says the problem is a lack of affordable supportive housing. "A personal care home will have a resident with a mental illness, and they know that," she says. "But when he goes through a crisis, they want to get rid of him because they're not equipped to handle that. So the person gets a 30-day notice and gets another placement to another PCH."

Why? Because there's nowhere else for him to go.

Rosalind Lavin and Ivy Ridge landed on the cover of the Daily News last week. There are plenty of other PCHs with violations--perhaps not as large as Lavin's--that compromise quality of life significantly.

The DPW's Anne Bale says, "We hear it both ways. Some people say we're not strict enough. Some people say we're too strict. We follow the law." One has to question the efficacy and merit of laws that would let thousands of people live in such poor conditions.

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1. Brian Daly said... on Jun 18, 2008 at 06:01AM

“what can the an average person do to help?”

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2. Jan said... on Jun 18, 2008 at 08:24AM

“There will always be those who slip through the cracks of societies fragmented morals. What a shame. But for the grace of God go I. These people are our brothers and sisters. How shameful. YES.....what can one person do???”

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