Rey Mashayekhi here, imploring you to read my colleague Pam Marino’s story this week on conditions at Pacific Meadows apartment complex for low-income seniors, located in Carmel Valley.
They say you should judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable, among which are the elderly. But Pacific Meadows owner HumanGood, a nonprofit that’s one of the largest senior housing operators in the U.S., appears to be failing miserably at providing those in the twilight of their lives with clean, adequate surroundings, according to Marino’s reporting.
Residents have complained about filthy hallway carpets, only to be told by management that they should vacuum in front of their apartments themselves. They’ve raised issues about disrespectful behavior from the complex’s employees (not to mention inadequate staffing—the front desk is seldom occupied), just to be brushed off with, “Respect goes both ways.” Last year, one resident died inside her apartment and wasn’t discovered until more than a week later.
At a town hall meeting last month, HumanGood representatives tried to explain that cuts to staffing, maintenance and custodial services were prompted by long-term vacancies at the complex that had hindered revenues. But that doesn’t entirely pencil out; as Marino notes, the 200-unit property has a lengthy waiting list—which is now closed, according to its website—and residents estimate that no more than 10 to 20 apartments are vacant. (HumanGood representatives did not provide the Weekly with vacancy data.)
Even so, that cannot justify the chronically poor conditions at Pacific Meadows, where seniors with little in the way of income or assets are left to spend their last days in a dirty, dingy building run by people who don’t seem to care much for them. For every rich NIMBY sitting on millions somewhere in Monterey County, there are many more less fortunate elders who spent their lives working and contributing to our society, only to be cast adrift at a place like Pacific Meadows.
I hope you read Marino’s piece and think about how, as a society, we can do better when it comes to providing for our most vulnerable. Surely, tidy living accommodations where they are treated with dignity during their last years is not too much to ask.
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