There are so many tragic realities of schizophrenia and psychosis, which is one of the most baffling and disabling illnesses known to mankind. One in a hundred people in our North American society will experience schizophrenia at some point in their lives. One in ten of these people WILL die by suicide, do to things like stigma and isolation.
The world needs to stop and take a look at what is going on. Our most vulnerable members of society are experiencing so much personal strife and difficulty. Get schizophrenia and you will lose your job, your friends. Family members will get tired of giving you chances to be more “normal” and disown you. Meanwhile, as TV Crime Dramas portray, people with schizophrenia are ‘sickos’ who murder and rape. The truth is, possibly because of delusions of grandeur and difficulty fitting in, people with schizophrenia are much more likely to be victims of violence than they are to be perpetrators. Bad things do happen, people with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders do bad things. But in nearly every case, these instances are examples of when the medical model failed the individual. A young man in Edmonton killed two police officers and himself after his mother called to get him the help he needed. What is so rarely reported is that this young man had come forward to get help just one week before this horrible tragedy.
I am a huge advocate of a massive change in how we house our most vulnerable. We see the people on the streets all the time. We don’t go near them because they look dangerous, or they stink or one of a million reasons. All of these people, addicts, the homeless, the disadvantaged, disabled and even addicts should be given a place to live. It is nearly impossible to get medications, psychiatric counselling and psychological services when a person has no address. It is also nearly impossible to get an address when you start without one. Study after study has shown that each homeless person causes a cost to society far greater than the cost of getting them a small place to live and the treatment they need, regardless of disorder or failings.
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