Regina man says he was wrongfully evicted from seniors' facility and left with nowhere to go

A Regina man who says he was given two hours to vacate the seniors’ home he lived in after being evicted should not have been forced to move in the first place.

Chris Ritter had been living at Mutchmor Lodge for six months before an incident involving another resident took place where police had to be called.

Ritter said he was given an eviction notice on April 2 and was told he only had two hours to vacate the premises.

“You’re supposed to get two verbal warnings and a written one,” Ritter explained.

Ritter said he spent the next three days out in the cold before he was taken to the Regina General Hospital (RGH) by a police officer.

Ritter is diabetic, which requires him to inject insulin four times a day. He also relies on a catheter and deals with mental health challenges.

“I had no where to go. I just put a couple of things on my cart. Like I don’t know how to load my insulin so I had no insulin. Medication, I just took some pills with me,” Ritter added.

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Administration with Mutchmor Lodge said they need to consider the rights of all residents in their facility, adding, when one person displays disruptive behaviour appropriate steps need to be taken to ensure everyone’s safety.

“In this particular instance, the last of a series of his behavioural incidence over three days, was when he refused to leave another residents’ suite,” executive administrator with Mutchmor Lodge Leroy Berndt said. “That resident’s recourse was to call police for assistance to remove the person,” he added.

According to Berndt, there are around 80 residents living in the facility.

“How do we balance the needs of everybody equally because everybody is entitled to an environment where they feel safe,” Berndt said.

Alternate resources were offered to Ritter according to lodge staff, but they say he declined.

After he is discharged from the hospital, Ritter said he is unsure of where he will go as he is unaware of a facility that can accommodate his needs.

CTV News has reached out to the provincial government for comment and is awaiting a response.