
I moved in Freedom Plaza in Sunset City FL (KEEP) less than a year ago. Since then 100% of all my jewelry and many souvenirs from,places I have lived around the world have been stolen by staff. Please, everyone, ignore senior facilities. OR ... have them sign an agreement for reimbursement for all losses. Finally, BUY A HUGE SAFE!!! Management is involved. These facilities are the dens thieves. The best we can do is warn people. I have since learned we are at least 15 people who have been seriously robbed. 14 women and one man. It is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS! This facility is one of a group that attracts retired military, which I am. I am also notifying the military to remove their advertising for and relating themselves to this facility. You are not helpless, as this site indicated. You can sue and you can submit your stories to senior magazines and to organizations that advertise and recommend the facility to seniors.
However, she had a safe deposit box at a bank and rotated the items, keeping only a few pieces with her in the assisted living facility. I suggest that you do that too, and keep a small safe in your apartment where you can put the pieces when not wearing them. Put a camera in your apartment as well. You can monitor it from your iPhone.
It's only common sense to take precautions. If you don't like it there, find a better place.
Keep in mind that in many facilities doors are not locked so ANYONE can enter a residents room.
That could be staff, hired trades people, guests of residents, other residents and strangers off the street that enter the building. A friend of mine was in an Independent Living facility, and a friend and I would often go to this facility for lunch. We NEVER signed in we just walked down to her room. She was telling us a story about a person they found "living" there in an empty apartment. this "non resident" lived there for at least 2 weeks as far as she could tell.
So, just like you would if you were living in any apartment, condo or even a single family home, Keep valuables locked in a safe or a safety deposit box. Keep a detailed description of valuables. Have photos of items and spend a bit and place a rider on your insurance and have valuables insured.
If this is happening to many residents then this is worth bringing to management and seeing what they are doing to protect residents.
File police reports.
And I would place security cameras within my apartment. (If there is audio captured check with your State regulations some States require 2 party consent for recording audio.
But, yes, there are many honorable "establishments". My brother was in one.
This site has not indicated to anyone that they are helpless against theft. But of course you must understand that keeping money and things that you cannot lose out in the open when you are in an open facilities with other residents, many workers, deliver persons, cleaners, and etc. does leave one open to things going missing. It is very sad.
I think if this is a common occurrence where you are an ombudsman should be contacted. In my brother's residence any accusations of theft were reported to police and investigated by police. That held true even when residents, who were forbidden from keeping cash in their rooms unlocked and not in safe DID do that.
Not that its ok for anyone to steal from others, but just like when my daughter moved into a dorm and then an apartment during college, valuables can be an easy target to EVERYONE that has access or enters a room. I strongly urge people NOT to take valuables into any facility where they cannot secure them - and if you have to keep them locked up how often are you actually using them?
We even kept my FIL's wedding band at home, rather than have him take it into the facility and potentially lose it in some way.
Obviously this does not mean that its ok for people to steal from each other. But unfortunately, in communal living it is a risk frequently.
My Mom was is a nice LTC facility. She wore her wedding ring and her anniversary ring and they were still on her finger during her funeral service. They were taken off when the lidcwas closed.
My parents lived in 2 ALs and had nothing stolen ever. In fact, they both went to SNFs multiple times for rehab as well and nothing was ever stolen.
Why do you suppose hotels provide SAFES for their guests to place their valuables in? We don't live in a Disney movie here, we live in reality where the prisons are full of thieves and criminals!