Much has changed in how we deal with mental health in the years since Riverview Hospital was closed — not all of it bad.
Today, there is more understanding and acceptance of the challenges faced by people with mental health issues than ever before and stigma, though still a problem, has been reduced while therapies and facilities have improved.
But clearly, not everything that has happened since Riverview closed has been good.
Here in the Tri-Cities, we are seeing more examples of mental illness in the community and, sadly, drug abuse is often part of the so-called dual diagnosis.
We see this, for example, in the number of police calls related to mental health. Last year, for example, there were 1,782 mental-health related calls to the Coquitlam RCMP and 723 apprehensions under the Mental Health act — an increase of 25% over 2016.
We see this in an increasing number of community complaints about anti-social behaviour in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam near the Gordon Avenue homeless shelter and needles being left in public spaces.
Too many people have fallen through the cracks, it appears, and the community is bearing the brunt of inaction and downloading.
It’s no secret that drug use and mental health issues often co-exist and, thus, it’s the provincial government’s responsibility to find a solution.
There have been suggestions that 3030 Gordon Ave. be turned into a high-barrier shelter, with more restrictions upon entry, but BC Housing won’t do that unless it can open up another low-barrier shelter in the community.
Riverview would seem like a good place for such an operation given that it will soon be the site of a Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, but it is so far away from where people who are homeless are living — including down a dangerous stretch of highway — it’s hard to say whether this could be achieved.
But something needs to be done to address the problem. The back of a police car is not the best place to provide mental health and drug addiction support but at the moment, that may be the best the Tri-Cities can offer.
