Dumped pills just the latest concern for neighbours of Martinos’ Victoria Manor

The latest, and possibly last, straw in Michelle's long-running battle to get someone - anyone, really - to address neighbours' concerns with two Martino family care homes happened a week before Christmas.

Michelle is a neighbour of Victoria Manor I and II, two side-by-side residential care facilities with about 50 residents in total located on Victoria Avenue South in the Stinson neighbourhood. She doesn't want her last name used because she fears for her family's safety and fears retaliation for speaking out.

The homes are part of the Martinos' chain of 11 retirement homes and residential care facilities (RCFs) which have been hit with a wide array of licence revocations, sanctions, regulatory orders, evacuations, concerns about COVID infections and allegations of poor living conditions over the past eight months.

Emerald Lodge, another of the Martinos' residential care facilities, was evacuated in October after allegations there were no functioning washrooms in the 30-bed home and that a resident was found tied to a radiator. The Rosslyn Retirement Residence, another Martino home, was the site of COVID outbreak in May that led to 16 deaths and an evacuation.

Brothers Aldo Martino and the late John Martino previously owned the Royal Crest Lifecare chain of care homes until it collapsed into bankruptcy in 2003, leaving Ontario taxpayers on the hook for $18 million.

On Dec. 19, Michelle discovered hundreds of prescription pills dumped at the back of her property - antipsychotic medications, antiseizure pills, diabetes medications, among others.

There was strong evidence, she claims, that the pills came from Victoria Manor because there was identifying information attached, including the names of different residents as well as the name of the prescribing pharmacy, which is located in the same building as the Martinos' head office and is known to supply the family's care homes.

Michelle went inside to call the city's municipal bylaw department. No answer. She called the Hamilton police non-emergency line. No answer. She sent an email to the bylaw department. No reply.

She went back outside to collect the pills and they were gone. She has no idea who took them, but all of the identifying information was removed as well.

So she sent an email to more than 20 city councillors and staff members in a variety of departments. She included pictures of the drugs strewn on the ground, as well as a list of the unsavoury activities she had witnessed at Victoria Manor in recent days.

As of Jan. 6, Michelle says, she has received no response from the city.

Absolutely nothing," Michelle said. The city doesn't care where all these pills went.

These are real prescription medications. They aren't vitamins."

In a statement to The Spectator, a city spokesperson said the public health unit contacted the operators of Victoria Manor on Dec. 23 about the dumped medication.

Public Health Services' staff determined that this isolated event was the result of an unfortunate staff error," said Kevin McDonald, director of the healthy environments division of public health.

Staff have ensured that the operator put in place immediate and appropriate mitigating measures to ensure no future errors are made with regards to the temporary storage of refused medication.

City of Hamilton Public Health Services takes these complaints very seriously," McDonald said. Inappropriate handling and disposal of medication is concerning."

Members of the Martino family did not respond to requests for comment made through their lawyer.

Michelle and several neighbours of Victoria Manor who spoke to The Spectator say chronic problems with the homes are disrupting the neighbourhood. What's worse, they say, is that no one at the city seems interested in addressing the issues, which they say have been getting worse in recent years.

Vandalism. Petty thefts. Screaming and yelling at all hours. Violence between the residents. Threats. Drug deals in the alley behind the homes. Residents openly drinking liquor outside on and off the premises. Staff smoking marijuana in the backyard.

It's a mental battle," Michelle says. My kids are not allowed to play in the backyard because of what they could hear."

Sharon, who also asks that her last name not be used because of safety concerns, said she's had residents trying to enter her house, and there's one confused-looking middle-aged resident who urinates on her front lawn almost every day.

We constantly have people who reside there just wandering on the street and you can tell they're confused," Sharon said. They don't know where they are."

As she's speaking, she says she can see one of the residents of the home walking down the middle of Victoria Avenue in a hospital gown and a jacket, drinking from a liquor bottle.

It's sad to see the sorry state these people are in," Sharon said. They obviously need more help than what they're getting there."

A few days before the medication incident, neighbours of Victoria Manor received a letter from Edward John, the city's director of housing.

It wasn't particularly helpful, says Steve, another neighbour who asked not to use his last name.

Basically it said we can only do so much and in the future call these four or five suggestions, which were police, fire, licensing and so on," said Steve.

We've been calling the police all along, we've been complaining to licensing all along," said Steve. He's just passed the buck."

Nrinder Nann, councillor for Ward 3 where the homes are located, said she forwards any neighbour complaints to the appropriate city department. She also said the owners need to be held accountable" for the condition of the homes.

I know for many of the adjacent neighbours it has been a struggle to observe neglect of residents and poor operations," Nann said. All of us who live in neighbourhoods with private lodges and RCFs expect the operators to be good neighbours and to uphold their service obligations to our neighbours who live in them."

The neighbours say they're sympathetic to the issues faced by the residents of Victoria Manor and their need for decent housing. This isn't a NIMBY issue, they add.

I watch how these people live and this is not dignified living in any way," said Michelle. They don't have any support, they don't have any programs."

These people have mental-health issues, addiction issues," Steve added. They need to be in a supervised situation with professional care, and that's not professional care."

What concerns the neighbours is that no one seems to address their complaints about the heavy concentration of residential care facilities, halfway houses and shelters in the central part of the lower city.

I'm not trying to push all the poor people out but I think there needs to be better management," said Sharon.

I think Hamilton becomes a dumping ground for these people who come here for mental-health issues from other areas and then never leave. They tend to fall through the cracks."

Steve Buist is a Hamilton-based investigative reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbuist@thespec.com