1010 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5B 4H9
604-205-9350

Category of Housing/Care: supportive housing
Number of Units: 2 homes - 10 units in each
Description of Units: studio suites with patio or balcony
Government Funding Available: some residents may qualify for Provincial rent subsidy
Operating Status: private non-profit
Tenure Options: rental
Monthly Rents: $1525 (meals included)

What is Abbeyfield?
History
Need
The Society
The Houses
The Costs
The Residents
Location
Further Information

Links

What is Abbeyfield?

Abbeyfield is a retirement home with a difference. Abbeyfield provides a friendly, small-scale home for independent seniors who no longer wish to live alone.

The Abbeyfield concept is simple. Each house provides accommodation for 9-12 persons. Residents live in bedsitting suites which they furnish themselves. Each suite has a private bathroom equipped generally with a shower. Residents enjoy lunch and dinner prepared by the live-in house coordinator and have breakfast at their leisure. The coordinator is responsible for shopping and food preparation and service and oversees the day to day operation of the house. Laundry facilities are provided. There is no provision for acute or long-term care requirements.

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History

Abbeyfield Houses were first established in England in 1956 by Richard Carr-Gomm. Since that time 882 houses have been established in 14 countries, including Canada. Residents of all backgrounds who are reasonably healthy and mobile are accommodated.

Abbeyfield Houses have been established in many communities to provide elderly persons with a fulfilling and happy residential lifestyle. Abbeyfield Houses are family-style homes designed for people who no longer wish to live alone, but still want to maintain their independence. Abbeyfield offers a friendly, supportive atmosphere that aims to balance privacy with companionship and security with independence.

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Need

There is a definite need for accommodation in congregate residences where the meals are provided and where the residents have independence and security. The average age of seniors living in such facilities in Greater Vancouver is around 85, with an age range from 60 to over 100. There is also a need for a smaller type of congregate setting such as Abbeyfield in which no more than 12 residents come together in a home-like environment. The features which make Abbeyfield unique and appealing are the following:

Living in a caring and supportive environment while at the same time maintaining one's independence.

Having a sense of security knowing that someone is there should a special need arise.

Living in the equivalent of one's home without all of the responsibilites that go with running a home and with no meals to prepare, except breakfast.

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The Society

Realizing that Burnaby and the Lower Mainland, like the rest of Canada, will experience a marked increase in the number of seniors in the new millennium in need of housing, St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church, the Burnaby Centennial Lions Club, and the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster have cooperated to build two houses for seniors based on the proven Abbeyfield concept. Through the Burnaby Centennial Lions Club, funds from the estates of Paul and Ethel Seifner have been made available to assist in the establishment of the two houses. The houses are named appropriately after these two benefactors.

The land on which the houses are built belongs to the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster and is leased to the Society at a nominal fee for 60 years. The Abbeyfield project is the culmination of an undertaking designed to celebrate the diamond anniversary of St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church, which was established on Sperling Avenue over 70 years ago. Abbeyfield House St. Margaret of Scotland Society currently one of 40 Abbeyfield Societies in Canada. At present there are 28 Abbeyfield Houses in Canada, 20 of which are in British Columbia. St. Margaret's Abbeyfield Society was incorporated on July 2, 1992. A registered non-profit society, it is overseen by a board of volunteer directors comprised mainly of members of St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church. Membership in the Society is open to all.

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The Houses

St. Margaret's first Abbeyfield house opened in October 1996 and the second house in May 1999. The two adjoining houses are run semi-independently. Each of the two complexes contains 10 suites on two stories - with a third floor containing a guest suite, and apartments for the house manager and the night-time relief personnel.

Each unit is an airy, comfortable 300 square-foot bed-sitting suite with a bathroom equipped with toilet, washbasin and shower. The suites are furnished and maintained by the residents. Common living, dining, and recreation areas are available for all residents. Each suite has a patio or a balcony.

The main meals are provided daily with the residents preparing breakfast at their leisure. A resident house coordinator is responsible for shopping and food preparation and service. Laundry facilities, hair dressing salon and a garage for electric scooters are provided. There is no nursing care although arrangements can be made for home care.

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The Costs

The monthly cost of the suites includes:

• accommodation
• 3 meals per day
• All utilities and Basic Cable, excluding telephone

At $1,525 per month the rent is competitive for accommodation and services of this calibre.  In some cases rental subsidies are available to reduce tenant payments to as low as $1,200.

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The Residents

The Abbeyfield family is comprised of seniors from all backgrounds and faiths who are able to live independently but who wish to live in a home-like atmosphere.

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Location

• 1010 Sperling Ave., Burnaby, B.C. V5B 4H9; corner of Sperling Ave. and Curtis St.
• adjacent to St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church.
• near shopping, banks and bus routes.

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For Further Information

• For information on how to apply for residency or to arrange a visit, please call Joan Mitchell, House Manager, at 604-205-9350 or Sheila Maciejewski at 604-420-5257.
• For information on the Society, please call Tony Pellett, Secretary, at 604-298-6551 or write to Abbeyfield House St. Margaret of Scotland Society, 1010 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby, B.C., V5B 4H9.

The Society is a registered charitable, non-profit organization and an outreach of St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church.

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Links

Abbeyfield Canada www.abbeyfield.ca 

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