A subject of a recent political controversy at the MRC, Residence Meilleur is a not-for profit retirement home located next to the St. Alphonsus Parish church in Chapeau, overlooking the Ottawa River.
And while it might have sometimes been lost in the debate over whether or not it needed to repay a disputed $30,000 grant, the recently built residence is providing a social service to the Upper Pontiac that has been advocated for since at least the 1970s.
According to . . .
board members and some testimonies from the families of those who live there, Residence Meilleur provides Pontiac seniors a good quality life and sense of community. It also allows seniors from the Pontiac to stay here instead of moving to somewhere like Pembroke.
Residence Meilleur is a one-story apartment building made of separate units built around a central common room where residents can go and spend time with one another.
THE EQUITY interviewed many of the board members in this common room.
“We’re like a little family,” said Carol Price, one of the resident board members at Residence Meilleur. “We get together in this room and chat and do puzzles and our paintings over there. And tonight, we’re having a meal in here. We tried to keep our community together here.”
The residence should be understood as a place for seniors who are still active but may not want to maintain their homes, according to Doris Ranger, mayor of Sheenboro and board member.
Carol and her husband Ron Price said they moved here from their riverside home after their children moved away and the maintenance of the home became too much work.
“You’re still able to do a lot of things that you could do at your home but you don’t have all that work outside,” said Carol. “You can get in your car and go where you want and come back. It’s not like going straight into an old age home where you’re going to have to give all that up.”
Ron Price said he enjoys the sense of security he gets from living at the residence. “You can’t ask for anything better.”
Residence Meilleur currently has 12 units. Three are two-bedroom units and nine one-bedroom units, according to Winston Sunstrum, board member and the former mayor of L’Ile aux Allumettes who led the way in getting the project built.
Units have a full kitchen, a bathroom and living room. There is a communal laundry room and garden boxes outside. The residents are planning to grow tomatoes, among other things, this summer.
“It’s not huge, but it’s quite convenient,” said Carol.
The great view of the river is also another perk available to the residents.
“Family members often don’t want to come to visit if it’s a dull dreary place,” said George Picard, vice president of the board. “They don’t go and visit mom and dad. But when they come into a bright place and there’s a nice view, they’re more apt to come visit more often.”
According to the board members, there’s always been a demand for a retirement residence in the Upper Pontiac. The project started to get off the ground in 2010 and opened in 2019. Now that they’re open, they have no trouble filling vacancies.
Barbara Dolan, community board member on Residence Meilleur said that projects like this are vital to provide basic housing to people in the area. She said if seniors have places like this where they can go, then their old homes become freed up for younger generations.
“In the next 20 years or so there are going to be a lot of 85-year-olds and this type of housing is going to be important,” said Donald Gagnon, mayor of Chichester and board member. “So, we need more. But this is a start anyway.”
The board members all say the funding they received from the municipalities of the Upper Pontiac and the MRC is essential to remain open.
“We’re regulated by the government on how much rent we can charge,” said Gagnon. “There’s a set amount for one or two bedrooms. So, we have to budget for that. We need all the funding we can get, especially with a mortgage.”
Sunstrum said the board of Residence Meilleur was set from the start to have members who are also municipal leaders in the Upper Pontiac.
“Nobody is profiting other than the good feeling you get from your heart for doing good,” said Dolan. “I mean, there’s nobody putting money in their pocket working for this operation. The fact that this place is here means that there should be support for it. From all levels of government, from all levels of society. This is a good thing. This is a necessary thing. And this needs to have to be supported. No politics, this is about humanity.”
The members of the board repeatedly pointed out the value Residence Meilleur brought to the lives of those who live there and the community at large.
“They’re the people that helped build this area,” said Dolan. “It was their hard work and their stamina that created this whole place. If you don’t look after your seniors, that’s not good. How you treat your seniors tells you a lot about your community.”
