Assisted living center bankruptcy forces residents to move
The ongoing economic recession has made life more difficult for the majority of consumers and companies in Georgia and throughout the country. This is especially true for non-profit businesses and charities that have seen their donations and other funding plummet as Americans and local and federal governments cut corners to stay afloat in their new financial reality.
This was made clear with the recent announcement that two Georgia assisted living centers will soon close after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The closure of the centers, which are owned and managed by the Southwest Georgia Housing Development, a non-profit corporation, means that dozens of low-income elderly residents will now have to find a new place to live.
According to officials with the Housing Development, declaring bankruptcy and closing the centers was their planned last resort. However, after they exhausted all other options and ruled out a Chapter 11 reorganization filing, they were forced to begin the process of declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The organization maintains that residents will not simply be thrown out onto the street, but that it will work with them in order to find suitable placements before closing the buildings. For the 14 residents of the Willows Assisted Living Center in Macon, those promises provide little reassurance. “Here I am at a place I thought I would be for the rest of my life,” said resident Donald Harrison. “But then they come and say I have to move out.”
Residents of the second bankrupt property, the Millennium Center in Cuthbert, may not be forced to move. Non-profit organization Volunteers of America is reportedly working with state officials to take over the property.
Source: WALB, “Bankruptcy forces senior citizens to move”, Ryan Houston, 10 March 2011
