Page 6 - CooperatorNews Chicagoland Spring 2022

6 COOPERATORNEWS CHICAGOLAND —SPRING 2022 CHICAGO.COOPERATORNEWS.COM Mental Health Issues in Multifamily Communities Compassion, Respect, & Avoiding Liability BY MIKE ODENTHAL Running a community association re- quires boards and managers to work with spoke with several management profes- people from all walks of life, including those sionals and attorneys across the country to with special needs, the prescription is pa- who have unique experiences, wants, needs, get some insight into how community ad- and challenges. That requirement also in- cludes residents living with behavioral or support residents living with behavioral or mental health issues—and thanks to the mental health issues. pandemic and all the chaos and upheaval that came with it, more people than ever fit that description. In some cases, a resi- dent may be quite open with neighbors and others about a diagnosis in effort to create many resources to help people with these it can immediately create a problem for that awareness within their community and de- fuse confusion or concern, should they ex- perience symptoms. But in other instances, step, despite being the first. Mandating that type of reaction they’ll have or how they’ll behavioral or mental health challenges can help often requires there to be a significant respond to a request, I’d suggest that the be undiagnosed or undisclosed, in which problem, but when you do have one, then manager always get clear instructions from a case the board or management may be per- plexed as to how to deal with an individual issues often come down to proving a nui- whose behavior is unpredictable, erratic or sance, which usually requires an abundance And I would make sure that the insurance disruptive. Regardless of the specific scenario, all owners, as well as a good attorney. residents deserve to be treated with dignity and respect—and that mandate starts with personal life is a common one in condos and lem or disability, there may be an Americans boards and management. When behavioral similar communities. We have had to rely on With Disabilities \[Act\] (ADA) issue. And or mental health factors are objectively in local authorities to help ensure that the asso- play, an association may find itself liable for ciation can maintain the common elements, nosis for that, by the way. You can have a damages should they fail to treat a resident but scheduling and communication can go a doctor’s note \[verifying the disability\], but with the appropriate care. CooperatorNews long way toward minimizing stress for most ministrators can appropriately address and Christopher R. Berg, President of Indepen- dent Association Managers, Inc., in Naper- ville, Illinois “The local health departments have the scope of what the board tells them to do, types of challenges, but getting some people managing agent. So in dealing with a dif- to request that help can be the most difficult ficult resident, where you don’t know what the municipality will step in. Most smaller board, and always have a witness with them of complaints and reports from multiple for both board and manager is up to date “The fear of intrusion into a resident’s people. Regardless, when helping residents tience – and it should be taken regularly.” Ira S. Goldenberg, Esq., a partner with Goldenberg & Selker, LLP, in White Plains, New York “I’ve seen managing agents fail to under- stand that they’re acting at a board’s direc- tion. When a managing agent acts beyond whenever they go out to visit such a resident. and covers this type of situation. “If there’s a legitimate mental health prob- you don’t necessarily need a formal diag- sometimes there’s a grey area where some- one may have a disability and be claiming an accommodation—and at least initially, a board or manager \[should\] be guarded and take that claim seriously. Emotional sup- port animals is always a prudent example. We had a resident who owned two pets, and we asked them why they needed the second one, they said that the first emotional sup- port animal itself needed an emotional sup- port animal. You don’t get to have two! “There are various government agencies that might be of assistance, and you do have the option to call those in. But the problem there is that they’re often reluctant to get involved, and the person in question has to want them to come in. It has to be a volun- tary thing, unless there’s something quite terrible going on. “And if there are clear rule violations, you might want to turn that over to the boards’ attorney to start taking action. In an extreme situation with a truly ill person, you can file for an Article 81 guardianship, which means that you pursue a court-appointed guard- ian to take over that person’s affairs. That’s a much more involved, time-consuming, pub- lic procedure, and the person might resist. But if you are successful in having a guard- ian appointed, then the board or manager only has to deal with the guardian from then on, rather than the individual.” Jeanne Eberhardt, a property manager at Casagmo in Ridgefield, Connecticut “Having been the on-site employee property manager of 307 units for the last 11 years, I have had to deal with residents and owners with mental health and cogni- tive issues. Fortunately, being on site, I am essentially the face of Casagmo, along with an awesome staff of one other office admin- istrator and two maintenance persons. But it all helps when dealing with residents. “We had someone who was once very reclusive, handing in their common charges to the office with barely a word. Then sud- denly, about three years ago, they woke up a completely different person. Elderly and with a lot of energy, they were somewhat disheveled, but extremely articulate, and this person is now known not only in our community but throughout the town by first name only, like a rock star. It’s been common knowledge that this person deals with men- tal health issues, and they had the memory of an elephant, so it was easy to notice—and MANAGEMENT continued on page 14