The Lynnhaven Society is an organization that provides low cost housing for single seniors in the Abbotsford area. It started with a number of smaller single floor units on Lynn Avenue shifting into two modern four story units on Braun Avenue. The housing changed but the care and attention to the tenants improved. As a Director of the Board, I was offended by the irresponsible article written in the January 22, 2016 Abby News. For all the good and responsible work that Lynnhaven has done to improve the living conditions for older people under stress, a reporter chooses to base a front page article on poorly researched, extremely biased, and very unreliable information.
There are a number of items that need correction. Yes there was 54 calls made to the police but 32 of them came from one disgruntled person. The same is true for the people supposedly sleeping in the hallways. The article further stated that 20 people came from the old buildings and today 6 remain. Once again, it casts a shadow of doubt over the Society. The facts of fatality and a change to medical dependent living played a big part of this. If most of your information is not reliable, then the chances are that the rest of the information is also worthless. At our recent Lynnhaven Society meeting of Management, Directors, and 19 tenants, the sleeping item was brought up for discussion and no one knew of this happening. The Lynnhaven Society is not perfect but both the Management and the Board of Directors pay strict attention to the daily operations and the security of the two buildings.
In regards to security, the City of Abbotsford has an excellent police force and a renowned fire department that quickly serve people in times of need. The Lynnhaven Society buildings and its tenants are familiar with the emergency services these two organizations offer. The Society cannot provide any added security beyond what all local multi-family residential units offer. All of this emergency information is placed at key points in the building.
Management has a decade of strong established methods of screening people before they are allowed into the building. This is not done alone, as outside bodies are referenced for corroboration of information and all personal references are checked. All tenants sign off on this and the policies Lynnhaven has in place. Perhaps this is one of the many reasons why people enjoy living at Lynnhaven. Mr. Tyler Olsen, instead of meeting with disgruntled, former Lynnhaven tenants who were evicted for not following the rules, maybe next time you can attend the meeting with the board and all current tenants (to which you would have been welcome), to get the real sense of Lynnhaven’s operations.
Clarence Jensen
