Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Mother and Severely Autistic Son Evicted by Fredericton Non-Profit Housing Corporation Will Be Homeless Friday, August 1




"People with Autism Spectrum Disorder may be overly dependent on routines, highly sensitive to changes in their  environment, or intensely focused on inappropriate items. ... the symptoms of people with ASD will fall on a continuum, with some individuals showing mild symptoms and others having much more severe symptoms"
American Psychiatric Association, Autism Spectrum Disorder Fact Sheet 
 [Underlining added for emphasis - HLD]

Mistie Delorey is a single mother currently residing in a property of the Fredericton Non-Profit Housing Corporation.  Her son  with severe autism will turn 7 two days from now, on July 31, 2014,  the day before  he and his mother will be  forced to leave the premises where they have been living over the past year after receiving an eviction notice from the Fredericton Non-Profit Housing Corporation; the day before Cameron's routines are broken and his environment is changed completely. 

The letter of eviction received by Mistie Delorey did not provide a reason for the termination.   In fact she was not behind in her rent, there was no property damage in the home in which she and Cameron have resided, there were no assaults,  and she was well liked by the neighbors.  She is a mother who has been doing a fine job dealing with the challenges of raising a severely autistic son by herself.

Mistie Delorey tried to discuss the recommended, but not mandatory, Tenant’s Insurance with the FNPHC property manager who did not take well to that effort. The volume rose and during this time Mistie’s son Cameron who was present  began kicking the wall;  one of his severe autism behaviors.   Allegations were made against Mistie to the Fredericton City Police by the property manager. The Police also however received Mistie’s side of the story and did not proceed with any charges. Mistie and Cameron are being evicted “without cause” to use legal terminology. No reasons were given in the notice of eviction. 


The eviction is likely to cause harm, potentially serious harm, to her severely autistic son.  This is not idle, ill informed, speculation.  Well informed medical personnel have already indicated that for autistic children generally, and for Cameron in particular, the disruption in his routines, in his life, could have serious repercussions and this has been made known to the Executive and Directors of the Fredericton Non-Profit Housing Corporation.  As it now stands Mistie Delorey will be homeless and her son will be taken from her on August 1 the day after his seventh birthday.

Numerous agencies have made their services available to plead on behalf of Mistie and Cameron including MLA Troy Lifford, the New Brunswick Community Living Association, a church elder, a City Councillor,  Cameron’s health care specialists and neighbors who wrote letters supporting Mistie and her son Cameron.  Several government departments and agencies held discussions with the FNPHC Board.  Brief extensions were obtained but the decision to evict stands.

New Brunswick has made many gains in early autism intervention and school services over the past dozen  years.   With the eviction of Mistie and Cameron Delorey without cause by a Non-Profit agency without regard for the impact on a severely autistic son it has taken a huge step back.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just sent to Gary Glauser, Executive Director:


This is an enquiry e-mail via http://www.nbnpha-alsblnb.ca/en/ from:{redacted}


I am appalled that your group, "building inclusive communities together since 1993," is going forward with the August 1 eviction of an autistic child and his mother, without any explanation or justification offered.

This appears to be a unilateral decision, the result of a personal snit, and is reprehensible. Please look into this matter and take action immediately.

At stake is the welfare of a child, and the image of your Association. Neither should suffer!

Anonymous said...

For clarification, it is Fredericton non-profit Housing that is doing the eviction.

Gary Glauser was the former ED of New Brunswick Non-Profit Housing - NBNPH is not involved in the eviction.

Debbie Dunphy is the ED of Fredericton no-profit Housing and has been evicting other people from their homes.

Charles, there is a big, big problem here. The provincial government has to step in and straighten out this mess. Ms. Dunphy is out of control.

Anonymous said...

This happened to us as well, we were evicted because of my ex's 3 yr old autistic son at the time, to add insult to injury she was also pregnant with my daughter that will be 5 yrs old in September. This has been going on for years and definitely needs to be stopped.

Girl Unzipped said...

This story is crazy! Being evicted without reason for anyone is unjust. One note to the author: "son with severe autism" rather than "severely autistic son" - person before diagnosis.

Cam said...

Harold, does this woman need help with anything(besides the obvious), moving etc? This is unfathomable to me as the Dad of Gabby and Kate. Very severely Autistic, non-verbal, self injurous etc. I hope you kick thier proverbial asses. Cam

Anonymous said...

Harold, how as a collective group can we help?

I've tweeted the mayor, sent emails to the board and have posted/shared.

Can you list out her housing needs/budget/location so perhaps we as a group can pool resources to help find a suitable long-term replacement? Sounds like even if this gets resolved in the short-term, it won't be a healthy environment for anyone and she may always be worried about "what if" they evict me again.
Rebecca

Unknown said...

I was evicted the same way from the same property manager in November. I was told extensive renovations had to be done and I was living on a 760 mth income and trying to further my education. I received this letter after having my annual inspection and the inspector coming back into my unit and telling me thanks for the upkeep on the home, it had been one of the best he seen all day. something needs to be done that people renting from them does not feel threatened or bullied because they speak up in fear of losing their home.