Photo Credit Ellen Bond
Lou
I am a sexual abuse survivor who has many mental health challenges due to the abuse and who the abuser was. Among my challenges are chronic depression, anxiety, BPD and PTSD. I have just recently become more creative. I'm using this as an outlet to be in a more positive head space and to increase my self esteem and view of my value in society.
I have been doing online research about persons with mental health challenges being shot and killed by police while in crisis. I am shocked and appalled by how often this happens across Canada...and this research has only found the deaths that are actually reported in the media! In other words, if a person with mental health issues does not have any friend or family who cares about them and they are killed by police while in crisis, there probably wouldn't be any media report or investigation into their death and the public would never know or even care about how they died.
I have started to collect articles from online sources/media, about these shootings by the police and the subsequent death of the person in crisis. My plan is to send an email to various government officials, police chiefs, organizations who help persons with mental health challenges and of course the media. This email would be demanding for change in how police handle mental health crisis situations so the no one else is killed.
One of the most vulnerable group of people in our society are those with mental health issues.
I will be sending an email with my message and an attachment with all of the online articles I have found about persons killed and how after more than two decades of recommendations from coroner's inquests and commissions of inquiry, de-escalation tactics are still not being implemented by police to help reduce harm/death to persons in crisis.
Along with many organizations, public figures and the media, I hope to finally see changes and get these changes mandated into the police services act!
With campaigns and getting involved with supportive organizations, we can help pressure the government and police for these changes. The lives of those living with mental illness matter!