Less talk, more action

From the June 1st edition of the Halifax Chronicle Herald:

My heart goes out to the families of Glen Race and his alleged victims. I echo the call for more treatment facilities and options for persons with mental illness.

Twenty years ago, my husband, John Legge, died by drowning himself at Point Pleasant Park while an inpatient at Camp Hill Hospital (Abbie Lane Building). A few months earlier, I had taken him to the then VG Hospital for behaving in a strange and uncharacteristic manner. The doctors in the emergency department told us he was depressed and could become suicidal, but they could not keep him against his will as he was not an "imminent" danger to himself or others.

Less than half an hour after leaving the hospital, he stabbed a family friend and was shot by a Halifax police constable who was called to the scene. After a stay at the East Coast forensic facility, he was transferred to the Abbie Lane for "treatment" and remained there until his ill-fated walk to the park on May 4, 1987.

In her report following the inquiry into John’s death, Judge Sandra Oxner stated that as a society, we have an obligation to offer viable treatment for persons with mental illness before they deteriorate to the point where they come in conflict with the law. It saddens me that 20 years later, we are still "discussing" the issue. I call on the government to put its money where its mouth is and adequately fund mental health treatment programs now, before its too late for yet another family.

Donna MacEachern, Halifax