Greetings and I’m Scott Savoy on a typical November day welcoming you to our Sterling Creations desk.
Today, our president Donna J. Jodhan shares a very sobering article with her readers.
It’s all about what recently happened at her condo when one of those contract workers who clean the fan coils twice yearly stole a prized possession from her and got away with it!
Shame on this person!
Donna would like to get your perspective!
Write to her at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.
Enjoy your weekend.
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How Workers Deliberately Steal From Blind Condo Owners
A Personal experience
By Donna J. Jodhan
The RoyalCrest condo complex in Toronto
When a condo owner is blind, the home is not just a place of shelter—it’s a vulnerable space. Unfortunately, unscrupulous workers sent by condo management offices to perform maintenance tasks have been exploiting this vulnerability. These workers, under the guise of performing legitimate duties, often find themselves with virtually unrestricted access to the home. And with that access comes temptation—temptation that some give into, knowing the consequences are minimal.
The Perfect Opportunity for Theft
Blind residents rely on trust. They cannot monitor every movement a worker makes while in their home. As a result, items can be stolen in plain sight, with the resident only discovering the loss much later. At that point, there’s no clear proof of who took it, no surveillance, no witnesses. Workers know this. They recognize the imbalance, and too often, they exploit it.
Barriers to Justice
For a blind condo owner, pursuing justice is an uphill battle. Legal action is not only expensive but fraught with obstacles:
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Proof is elusive — without direct evidence, it’s nearly impossible to hold a worker accountable.
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Costs outweigh the loss — hiring lawyers or private investigators can exceed the value of what was stolen.
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The worker’s confidence grows — knowing the risks are low, thieves continue undeterred.
Even the condo management office, which technically oversees these workers, often throws up its hands. With little recourse available, they claim powerlessness, leaving the resident without protection or restitution.
A Rigged System
The outcome is depressingly predictable:
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The offending worker walks away with stolen goods.
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The blind condo owner is left violated, financially harmed, and powerless.
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The management office avoids liability, citing lack of evidence.
It’s a cycle of injustice that favors the thief and punishes the most vulnerable.
What Can Be Done?
The question remains: what is the solution? At a minimum, reforms should include:
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Mandatory oversight — workers entering a blind person’s home should be accompanied by a supervisor or recorded through video documentation.
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Clear accountability — management companies must bear responsibility when their contractors are caught stealing.
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Affordable recourse — there must be streamlined, low-cost legal pathways for vulnerable residents to pursue claims.
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Worker vetting — stronger background checks and zero-tolerance policies for theft should be enforced.
Until such measures are implemented, blind condo owners will remain easy targets for theft, and workers who betray their trust will continue to get away with it.
I would like to leave you with this for your consideration.
Imagine a quiet suburban street, the kind where neighbors wave at each other as they mow their lawns and where trust is woven into daily life. Inside one modest, well-kept home, the blinds are always drawn—not out of secrecy, but necessity. A blind homeowner relies on the sounds, textures, and trust in others to navigate a world without sight. The house is filled with the scent of brewed coffee, the faint creak of familiar floorboards, and the comforting order of objects placed exactly where memory has fixed them.
Into this sanctuary step the workers—plumbers, cleaners, caregivers, or handymen—called in to help. To the homeowner, they are voices and footsteps, presences taken at their word. But while the homeowner listens, a silent betrayal unfolds: a hand slips into a jewelry box, cash is quietly removed from a wallet left on the counter, or cherished heirlooms are pocketed under the guise of service. Each theft is invisible to the one person who cannot see it happening.
The scene is not just physical but emotional: a chilling contrast between vulnerability and exploitation. What should have been a partnership of trust becomes a haunting violation. The blind homeowner, unaware in the moment, later senses the absence—an empty space where a treasured object once lay, a gnawing doubt that corrodes their faith in others. The theft becomes more than the loss of belongings; it is a theft of dignity, independence, and safety within one’s own home.
Image = A man in a beige polo shirt, seated in an armchair and holding a white cane, appears to be blind and unaware as another man, dressed as a worker in a navy shirt with tool belt, discreetly steals cash from a wallet near an open wooden jewelry box containing pearl necklaces on a table in the foreground.
To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com
