Ottawa has virtually no support services exclusively for its mentally ill homeless people.
“We are a misrepresented or unrepresented part of the population of the homeless and the mentally ill,” said Christopher Reid, who has suffered from mental illness and been homeless for 21 years.
“We are competing with the other people on the street, but we are always the last ones to be heard.”
Last December, Reid acknowledged the need for support services for mentally ill homeless by creating a monthly discussion group called Harmony 6.
The group is a forum for mentally ill homeless to talk about their problems, and it's open to staff who work to generate awareness.
On April 1, the Alliance to End Homelessness published its fourth annual Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa.
The report found Ottawa’s overall homeless situation worsened in 2007 with increases in areas such as the number of families in shelters and length of shelter stays.
The report primarily focused on housing, but mentally ill homeless were mentioned with a recommendation for the provincial government to increase mental health and addictions services.
“There certainly is a very inadequate level of services for people with mental health issues, especially those who are homeless,” said Marion Wright, the alliance’s vice-chair and Canadian Mental Health Association’s Ottawa branch executive director.
Wright said CMHA offers programs for mentally ill homeless through case management and outreach services.
However, Reid said the programs’ long waiting lists are a road block for mentally ill homeless and accessible support services need to be placed within shelters and drop-in centres.
Furthermore, the health agency’s programs are typically for mentally ill homeless who also have substance abuse disorders and other complex health issues.
Reid said of how homeless people with addictions have a variety of support services and get priority over the mentally ill for counselling.
Often, the mentally ill are told counsellors are booked and to go to hospital emergency rooms or local clinics for help.
“Imagine a guy that gets discharged from the hospital and ends up on the street for the first time,” said Reid. “He goes around to the shelters and says, ‘do you guys have anything for the mentally ill?’ and they say ‘we have a bed and a shower, now shut up and go to bed.’ And a guy comes in and says ‘I’m an alcoholic,’ and they say ‘we have 10 different things for you.’”
Rosemary Zak, an Anglican Social Services Centre 454 co-ordinator, agrees with Reid.
“There are a lot of people who come here who are mentally ill, but do not use drugs, do not drink, and they have a very difficult time getting the services they need,” said Zak. “We need to make more of an effort to reach out to folks who are mentally ill.”
Capital Ward Coun. Clive Doucet spoke with Reid and recognizes the need to establish services for the mentally ill homeless, but says it’s not up to the city to implement them.
“This is a health issue. It really should be the province that’s doing that,” said Doucet. “(When) you don’t have enough money to repair your roads and buy your buses, it’s a hard sell to get people to pay attention to social issues.”
However, addictions are also a health issue and those services are available – a discrepancy that Reid says reveals the apathetic attitude toward the needs of the mentally ill homeless.
“We will sprinkle a couple of doughnuts on those mentally ill guys on the street,” said Reid. “They will stay in the corner in their coma-like state, and they will be happy.”