A Place to Call Home
Thousands of people with chronic mental illness live productive lives in metro Vancouver thanks to the support offered by Coast mental Health. The non-profit organization provides housing, vocational training and employment opportunities, and community resources to over 4,200 people with mental illness every year. In recognition of mental Illness Awareness Week (october 6- 11) Coast strives to spark meaningful discussions about mental health with a three part series beginning today in The Vancouver Sun.
The diagnosis of a mental illness can feel like a life sentence. Recovery is possible with medication and other supports that help patients manage their symptoms. disorders appear to strike randomly – from celebrities such as Robin Williams whose battle with depression contributed to his tragic death to the homeless woman with schizophrenia sheltering in a storefront you may walk past on your way to work. mental illness does not discriminate. The consequences can be devastating… broken homes, broken families, and people self-medicating as they hide from the stigma of being labelled “crazy.”
“one of the most important foundations you can give someone recovering from mental illness is a home,” said Coast Executive director darrell Burnham. “Without that, you’re always in crisis.
The needs of people with mental illnesses vary; that’s why Coast offers a variety of levels of supports at its housing sites. People who live in housing with supports are healthier, participate in their treatment more effectively, and have more opportunities for a full recovery. Take away those supports and subsidies and people run the risk of costly relapses.”
Coast works in partnership with different levels of government, donors and corporate partners to provide mental health support to nearly 1,100 residents and operates more than 30 housing developments in metro Vancouver – all outside the downtown Eastside. Some tenants come to a Coast home directly from psychiatric hospitals and live initially in community settings; others are severely addicted and mentally ill and come straight from the streets into a supportive environment where they can stabilize and reintegrate with the community. As their needs lessen and they
“One of the most important foundations you can give someone recovering from mental illness is a home.” DARRELL BURNHAM, COAST MENTAL HEALTH
are able to live more autonomously, tenants move into more independent subsidized housing. many live in private market apartments thanks to Coast rent supplements which make their housing affordable.
Providing young people with housing is a growing area for Coast. Soon eight youth with complex mental illnesses and addictions who are keen to get clean will be moving into a community home in east Vancouver where they will receive six months of intensive supports. This is in addition to the nearly 90other youth Coast already provides supportive housing for.
“When you are able to help a young person with a mental illness, their life trajectory changes dramatically,” said Burnham. “They transform from being dependent and a high consumer of emergency services to being a more independent person who makes positive contributions to their community.”
A study conducted in B.C. found that a homeless person costs taxpayers $55,000 a year, while housing and supports for them would require $37,000 a year. Burnham reckons that the cost of housing for the people with chronic mental illness Coast supports is less than $15,000 a year per person.
Coast is currently is developing a new rehabilitation recovery program on the grounds of the former Riverview hospital for men and women ready to leave the Burnaby Centre for mental Health and Addiction and begin the next stage in their recovery. All the organization’s housing and community resources are purposely outside of Vancouver’s downtown Eastside.
“That was a strategic decision we made,” said Burnham. “most of our clients have spent time there and have been adamant in telling us recovery begins the day you leave that area. our practice has been to create homes and supports in various neighbourhoods throughout metro Vancouver where individuals want to live and integrate into the community.”