toronto family visit

Family gets creative to visit 95-year-old Holocaust survivor in Toronto

Visiting family is surely one of the things many are missing the most right now as lockdown and social distancing measures prevent people from seeing the ones they love, so one Toronto family had a creative idea to visit their father/grandfather without actually breaking any rules. 

Avi Minkowitz's grandfather is a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor living in an old age home in Toronto.

He's been in isolation for weeks and hasn't had any real contact with his daughter, any of his grandchildren or great grandchildren.

So, Minkowitz came up with an idea for his grandfather to actually see his family through the window in his room. 

"I arranged for my mother to visit her elderly Holocaust-survivor father through the window using a bucket truck," he said. 

toronto family visit

Minkowitz's grandfather visiting with his daughter through his window

Minkowitz explained that he has a friend who works as an electrician and owns a bucket truck for his job. 

He said his friend parked the bucket truck outside the building and his mother was lifted to the third floor to speak with his grandfather through the window.

"He was incredibly happy and it was a much better interaction than through video chat," Minkowitz said.

Families across Ontario have been struggling since visitors were prohibited from entering old age and long-term care homes to avoid spreading the virus. 

Some families have gone so far as to break the rules just to steal a visit with a loved one, but Minkowitz and his family prove that there are ways to express love to your family members without putting others in danger.

Photos by

Avi Minkowitz


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

What's open and closed on Victoria Day 2024 in Toronto

The breathtaking Mast Trail in Toronto follows a 200-year-old logging route

Moore Park Ravine is an escape from the city in midtown Toronto

The history of what was once Toronto's grandest mansion

This is how Toronto celebrated Victoria Day over 100 years ago

You can take in breathtaking valley views along the Vista Rouge Trail in Toronto

Downsview Park in Toronto is a massive urban park around an artificial lake

Canada is seeing one of the worst standard-of-living declines in 40 years