Media
The Kingston Whig-Standard
August 25, 2001
We're locking up the ill
Those with mental problems must have access to support
I read with interest "Defence lawyers plead for prisoners packed 'like sardines' in Quinte Jail" (Aug. 10). In the article, one source mentions that the "maximum-security unit is filled with the mentally ill."
The Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office believes that jails are not the appropriate place for individuals with mental illness and that a more suitable environment would be a hospital where they could receive appropriate care and treatment, to the extent that they wish.
We believe that individuals with mental illness must have access to support services, access to independent advocacy services, access crisis intervention services, access to social workers and physicians for counselling, assessment and treatment, and other services and programs that support their wellness, recovery and reintegration back into the community.
Inmates with mental illness should receive no less.
Sadly, these services are often not available, aren't accessible or the inmate simply doesn't access them due to the stigma associated with mental illness.
We must change how we provide mental health services to inmates to ensure that they receive the help they need, in the appropriate setting and when and where they need it.
Locking up individuals with mental illness is an injustice which cannot be tolerated and which often leads to tragic results.
As a community we need to focus on reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and make care and treatment accessible while reforming the mental health system to give clients an equal voice in the process.
Susan Douthwaite
Patient Advocate
Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office
Kingston
