Silver Village and ADA Non-Compliance

On September 08, 2025, city council candidate Eileen McDonnell had the opportunity to address council about the treatment of seniors at Silver Village, and the abhorrent conditions of their bathrooms.  —The issue at hand involves the city of Livonia’s ongoing “effort” to update bathrooms across city maintained buildings to make them ADA compliant.  While this is certainly a step in the right direction, there’s an urgent need to take a closer look at the current situation and what’s been done—or rather, what’s not being done—to support those who rely on these accommodations.

Eileen first became aware of the severity of the situation when she met a resident at the Music From the Heart event.  Since August 20th, they have been without a fully functioning bathroom in their unit.  Instead of the basic dignity and privacy we all deserve, they have to use the bathroom in a neighboring unit–two apartments away–to shower and use the toilet.  Imagine the inconvenience and discomfort this would cause anyone, let alone seniors who may already be dealing with mobility or other health challenges.

The situation only worsened when they had to resort to threatening legal action to get management to respond. After expressing their intent to call their attorney, management installed a toilet—though that only happened after the situation became untenable. It’s worth noting that the resident was forced to use a bucket at night during this process… far from an ideal or dignified solution.  You can watch the full video here: