“Growing up with various medical conditions, I struggled with how society perceived my (dis) abilities and began documenting my experiences through poetry.”
We’re delighted to present this poem and photograph by Cara Jones, one of the five poems that were selected after we issued a call for poems earlier in the year.
Judy HAiven: The Orwellian reality is that five people did not survive their “wellness check” carried out by police. There is no coincidence here: The police shot the five because of their race and because they could do so.
African Nova Scotians with the extra burdens of racism and marginalization to contend with have nowhere to turn. Raymond Sheppard writes on the urgent need for Africentric mental health services, situated in the community and run by the community.
Judy Haiven: The first time I learned of someone falling to their death with police looking on was six years ago, in Halifax. Mohammed Eshaq, 27, fell from the balcony of his tenth-storey apartment in February 2014. The second time was two weeks ago. Toronto resident Regis Korchinski-Paquet, 29, fell 24 storeys from her apartment balcony.
“Dear Sam, this is the story of how your mom got lost, where I went, who I’ve been, and who I am.” Check out this week’s weekend video about Heather, a young mother who lives with mental health issues, who, unable to find help, ends up in a forensic hospital after being found ‘Not Criminally Responsible on account of Mental Disorder’. It’s really nice.
Kate MacDonald: In this very weird time of limiting our social gatherings, now more than ever, I have to sit with myself. How will we get to know the children and partners and family we are so lucky to be “stuck with”?
Our roving reporter Judy Haiven witnessed an interaction between an older man and some cops and EHS personnel on a Halifax street. “Yes the man swore and demanded a ride to the hospital — he was not polite. But it dawned on me that he could have had mental health issues, or was very alone, or very scared. Maybe he was homeless; maybe he was drunk. The first responders’ reaction was to ridicule and threaten him with arrest,” writes Judy.
Day surgery and the mandatory ride home is a problem for poor people, as are mental health issues. In this letter anti-poverty advocate Kendall Worth offers excellent solutions to Health minister Randy Delorey.
Fairly often poor people in Halifax get stopped by police and private security guards for involuntary behaviour such as fidgeting and staring at people, behaving as if intoxicated, and talking to themselves in public. In a follow up on earlier stories Kendall Worth spoke with people who submitted formal complaints with police, mall management and even the Human Rights commission.
Bit of a sad story as Kendall meets a young woman who, as so many people on income assistance, lives in social isolation.