MENTAL ILLNESS, ADDICTION MISUNDERSTOOD

There are still a lot of misconceptions about mental illness and
addiction. We only see the ugly aftermath. We turn a blind eye to the
homeless, incarcerated, institutionalized and the addicted.

National statistics show that 92 per cent of people in jail are
mentally ill and 86 per cent of our homeless also have this
condition. Ninety per cent of suicides are related to mental illness.

Fifty per cent of people with mental illness have addiction problems;
many go undiagnosed because the drugs or alcohol mask the symptoms.
Over all, one in 10 Canadians have a mental illness.

Even with these outrageous numbers, society tends to offer Band-Aids
which do not address the real problem.

This is a medical condition. It is not a criminal issue nor a housing crisis.

Very little government funds are being placed appropriately in the
mental-health field and while billions of dollars are spent on cancer
research, only seven per cent of research money goes to mental
illness and addiction.

Mental illness and addiction greatly affect daily living. It is all
too common for these people to lose their jobs, homes and families.
With no place to go, they go to the streets and parks.

If half the money spent on incarceration was spent on preventive
medicine, many of our social problems would decrease.

Increased out-patient care would help people return to society. More
beds for detox and residential stabilization would also have a huge
effect on crime and homelessness.

It is time to take the blinders off and see the world for what it is.

Patrick Schnerch,

Victoria.