Sask. mother says her vulnerable son desperately needs care, housing
Long waitlist for housing for those with severe mental illness, addiction, other needs
A desperate Regina mother fears her adult son won't survive much longer if he doesn't get the help he needs.
Pam Sanderson says her son Keith was born with a cognitive disability. He now suffers from mental illness, addiction, permanent psychosis and fits of violence.
Sanderson says there are Saskatchewan facilities that handle people with these multiple, complex needs, but they're full and the waitlist is long.
She's hoping someone will help Keith before it's too late. She also wants better support for others in the same situation.
"It's not his fault, it's his illness," Sanderson said in an interview from her Regina home.
"Due to all of his mental health diagnoses, he runs in a psychotic state all the time, so he's not in our current reality. He talks to people that are not there. He hears voices in his head all the time."
CBC News has been covering Sanderson's situation for years, including when she went to the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in 2018 to complain about gaps in addictions and mental health services, and again in 2020 when she says he fell through the cracks in B.C. as he cycled through jail and slept on the streets in Victoria.
Sanderson said that she'd like Keith to live with her, but it's just not possible. He once punched her in the face while she was driving 100 km/h down a highway.
Keith also can't live on his own. He was recently kicked out of yet another hotel.
"The owner called every motel and hotel in the area and basically said don't rent a room to this guy because he's unsafe, he's dangerous, he's a danger to himself and he's a danger to all of our customers that are in our motels." said Sanderson.
She said shelters are not an option, as Keith is a danger to others.
Sanderson said Keith is also extremely vulnerable on the street.
"He has no concept of how cold it is here in Saskatchewan. Sometimes, he will walk the streets with only a jean jacket and long sleeve shirt on," she said.
"He's unable to care for himself at all now. He's been in two different motels. He doesn't take care of his physical well-being. He doesn't make good choices for himself."
Sanderson has been trying to get Keith into the Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford (SHNB), but there is a years-long waitlist to get him in. She was told there are many like him waiting.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority operates SHNB on behalf of the Ministry of Health to serve patients from across the province who need longer-term psychiatric rehabilitation and whose needs cannot be met in local inpatient mental health facilities.
The SHNB is a 284-bed provincial psychiatric that includes 188 psychiatric rehabilitation beds and a 96-room secure wing for offenders.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement, in Regina, there are services available to individuals with persistent mental health and addictions challenges who are in need of longer-term support, including a mental health stabilization unit, supportive housing and other long-term supports. Not all of these services may be suitable in every case, depending on the individual's level of complexity and need, the statement said.
Based on assessment by a psychiatrist, people with active mental health concerns can be admitted to an inpatient mental health unit for assessment and treatment.
The Ministry of Health also said the province's new Action Plan for Mental Health and Addictions is adding 500 addictions treatment spaces across the province to double capacity for treatment through the publicly funded health-care system. A total of 183 addictions treatment spaces have been announced so far, including a 60-bed inpatient addictions treatment facility in Lumsden, close to Regina.
Also, as part of the Provincial Approach to Homelessness initiative, the province is spending $40.2 million over the next two years to create 155 new supportive housing spaces, 120 new permanent emergency shelter spaces, 30 new complex needs emergency shelter spaces, and additional community safety and outreach responses.
Sanderson said the province is behind the rest of Canada in terms of mental health and addictions care.
"I think every health-care professional across the country understands that addiction is a part of mental health. It is a disease. Nobody chooses to be this way. It is not a choice. It is a mental illness. It is a person that is trying very hard to manage their mental illness by self-medicating." said Sanderson.
Sanderson said she would love to see mental health supportive housing, specifically for complex care, staffed with professionals.
She said she was encouraged to hear Keith was recently put on a waitlist for a Regina home operated by the Phoenix Residential Society, which helps people with addictions, psychiatric disorders and other issues. But she has no idea how long it will take.
"How many patients are there on the streets of Regina and Saskatoon, and all of the other small cities around the province that are seeing people that are very mentally ill, on the street with no care?" said Sanderson.
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