Those who are homeless are 50 percent more likely to die because of accidental causes than the rest of us. There is no judgment here, just a hard fact.
Homelessness and mental illness are often concurrent conditions, meaning one can bring on the other.
Last year alone, Vancouver police apprehended close to 3,000 people under the Mental Health Act. Many of them had deteriorating mental health, and an arrest likely led to the immediate treatment they needed in a facility with a bed and a warm meal.
So, when the Mustard Seed Food Bank closed its doors for a short period in December due to concerns around physical violence, potentially more people went homeless or suffered needlessly. This resource alone was serving close to 1,800 people a day, up from 1,500 a day the year previous.
Be compassionate for one another by looking beyond the stigma of homelessness and mental illness.
Addiction itself is just a way to soothe one’s own harsh reality: the greater the trauma, the longer the recovery.
Be thankful for your own support network, because the veil between living on the street and in a warm home is thin.