An article published in the June 20th edition of The Chronicle Herald:
Mother: With no services to help her daughter, she’ll continue to run away
By Heather AmosKoral Lynn Clark [pictured] is 24 and [lives with schizophrenia]. She went missing for two weeks after she stopped taking her medication.
It’s happened before.
Her mother, Kim Clark, says that’s because there aren’t enough services for her daughter when she’s well.
Her comments on Friday came a day after the Halifax Regional Police asked for the public’s help in locating her daughter. Koral heard the media reports and called her family, but would not tell them where she was.
Ms. Clark was hoping to make physical contact with her soon.
Koral was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 20. Since then Koral has been caught in a vicious circle, her mother said.
When Koral feels well, she stops taking her medication, which makes her paranoid. She thinks her family is trying to control her life and begins to distance herself, Ms. Clark said.
Ultimately, Koral requires medical treatment that includes hospitalization and drugs to help her control her condition.
She’ll get better. And because she’s better, she’s sent out into the community to fend for herself.
Feeling better, she stops taking her pills. Legally it’s her right to stop taking them.
The circle repeats itself. "The system says I can’t help her until she gets to the point where she’s no longer capable of making proper decisions for herself," Ms. Clark said.
She’s had to step in to get her daughter help before. Last October, Ms. Clark went to court to get Koral confined under the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act, a law enacted in July 2007.
Koral was released from the hospital at the end of April.
And the circle repeated itself.
"The reason why she goes off her meds, in my opinion, is because there’s a major gap between the services provided by the medical profession and getting back into the community," Ms. Clark said.
She believes the circle could be broken if her daughter was aided through the transition period. What she would like to see is a team approach at this stage of her daughter’s treatment.
She’d like there to be housing available where patients have access to psychiatrists, community health nurses and psychologists. Someone needs to help her daughter learn to shop, cook, clean and integrate back into society, she said.
There also needs to be someone available to make sure she complies with her medical regimen.
This type of service is available under the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act, but is rarely enforced on an individual, said Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.
"The stipulation in the act requires that the person lacks the capacity to make their own treatment decisions," he said. "Quite frankly, generally what happens is that a person is hospitalized involuntarily . . . and they get to the point . . . where they can make their own treatment options."
But one of the problems for people with schizophrenia is a lack of insight into the illness.
"Over 50 per cent of people, particularly those who have a first episode of psychosis, lack any insight that they’re ill," Mr. Ayer said. "In some cases, people, even when they’re treated, continue to lack insight. Those are the ultimate problem cases in terms of the revolving door, in and out of hospitals."
Mr. Ayer thinks Nova Scotia needs more community-based services, especially supportive housing services.
"Ideally there would be housing available specifically for people who live with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders," he said.
Often if someone relapses, they can’t return to where they lived. It’s one of the reasons why Koral has lived on and off the streets for the last three years. If supportive housing were available, she could return to it even if she had a relapse.
Mr. Ayer said Ontario has a good supportive housing system and thinks the problem in Nova Scotia might be that the responsibility for mental health and housing support fall under different government departments.
He explained that about four per cent of the population is affected by schizophrenia or psychosis. His society provides services for these individuals and their families.
Koral could not be reached for this story because contact information for her was unavailable.
Services Provided
The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia provides services to people living with schizophrenia or psychosis and the families of those living with the illnesses.
If you are indirectly affected by schizophrenia or psychosis the society provides support by:
- A monthly support group meeting in Halifax — guest speaker and discussion
- Individual support for people who call in
- Help with understanding and navigating the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act
The society is also involved in public policy, research and provides other forms of support. They have four chapters:
- Education services
- Bridgewater, Lunenburg County
- Kentville, Kings County
The society can be contacted at: 1-800-465-2601 or by visiting their website at: www.ssns.ca
- Springhill, Cumberland County
I have taken the liberty to edit this article to remove the word schizophrenic.
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