May 30, 2006
Kamloops Daily News


You wouldn't walk past someone who lay bleeding on the
street. Compassionate Canadians would help or call for
assistance.

Then why do we avert our gaze walk as we past a mentally ill
person who is also needs help?

Unlike the cut of a knife, mental illness doesn't show. No
manic grin or telltale drool at the corner of the mouth
betrays their dark wound.

An alarming number of Kamloops' street people are mentally
ill. In a recent survey, 22 percent of homeless
Kamloopsians rated their mental health as poor or very poor.

Considering of the stigma of mental illness, the actual
numbers are likely higher than sufferers would admit. It's
safe to say that there are dozens of people on the streets
of Kamloops who are mentally ill.

That fact will alarm many Kamloopsians, not only out of
concern for the welfare of fellow citizens but out of fear
for their own safety. We still think that mentally ill
people are dangerous. Actually, mentally ill people are a
greater danger to themselves than to others.

Our misconceptions haven't changed much from 50 years ago
when the Canadian Mental Health Association observed "In no
other field, except perhaps leprosy, has there been as much
confusion, misdirection and discrimination against the
patient, as in mental illness . . . a disgrace to be hushed
up, a personality weakness to be deplored or a welfare
problem to be handled as cheaply as possible."

A committee chaired by Senator Kirby recently heard from
hundreds of Canadians who suffer from the prejudice and
consequences of mental illness. Their testimonies are
contained in the committee's report, Out of the Shadows at
Last.

One sufferer said "People tell me to, 'Snap out of it,' and
'Think happy thoughts.' They recommend books to you and they
lay this guilt trip on me, such as, 'You are too young to be
depressed,' and, 'You have nothing to be depressed about…'"

Another told the committee "I have lost family and friends
because they are afraid. The fear in this case is ignorance
and I just have to deal every day with suicidal thoughts,
medication, therapy and psychiatrists. It is not an easy
road."

One said she would rather be physically ill, "I would do
anything to have breast cancer over mental illness. I would
do anything because I would not have to put up with the
stigma."

Cutbacks to healthcare have increased the suffering of the
mental ill. Often the only way to get treatment is to break
the law. The sufferer ends up in jail - - not the best
environment for treating illness - - but often a better
alternative to the street.

Some mentally ill are dangerous. Parents of a paranoid
schizophrenic told the committee "Currently our son is back
in jail for threatening our lives. My son deserves to be
treated for his mental illness. But as the law stands now at
this point they will wait for him to carry out his threats,
and he will, and then all will suddenly stand up and say
wow, why didn't we see this coming."

The history of treatment of mental illness in Canada is one
step forward, one step back. In1897, many were locked up in
insane asylums such as the Provincial Hospital for the
Insane in New Westminster. Lunatics (as they were then
called) were considered morally unfit and hopeless sinners.

They lived in filthy and deplorable conditions until
enlightened doctors determined that their lives could be
improved through humane treatment.

The opening of the Hospital of the Mind (1913) in Coquitlam
represented progress. Its sprawling gardens allowed
patients to work productively in the green fields and
pastures of the hospital.

The closure of mental hospitals should have been another
step forward but instead, mentally ill Canadians on the
street are worse off than those of 90 years ago.

The closure of mental hospitals was supposed to be followed
by integration into the community through group homes.
Instead, governments shortsightedly closed hospitals without
finding a place for all patients to go.

As a result, patients were set free from places such as
Tranquille and were condemned to life on the street.

The New Life Mission in Kamloops is opening a clinic once a
week for the mentally ill but more needs to be done.
Charities can't do the job that should be done in
well-staffed community homes paid through our taxes.


David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca

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