From CBC.ca:
To download the entire broadcast, click here (mp3).Rex Murphy's introduction to the January 11, 2009, program:
"Our question today: "Are governments across Canada doing enough for the mentally ill?"
Today we want to talk about the state of mental illness in Canada.
Almost three years ago we did a similar program after the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology released a report three years in the making called "Out of the Shadows at Last." It was an in-depth look at what it was like to be mentally ill in Canada and what kind of support could be expected. It was not an optimistic picture. The chair of that Senate committee and the co-author of the report was Michael Kirby. One of the recommendations was to set up a mental health commission to, among other things, act as a co-ordinating body in Canada's approach to mental illness.
In 2007 the federal government created the Commission and named Michael Kirby the chair. It has been almost two years since the Commission was created and this week we want to take a look at how things are going in the battle against mental illness.
Those who deal with mental illness are very familiar with the 'trap' this illness falls in. It is the one illness that still has something of a 'taboo' about it. People are 'shy' when talking about mental illness. It is also among the most intractable problems a person, family, or society can face. It is twinned with other more immediately visible problems. How much of homelessness, for example, is wound up - tied to - persons suffering mental disability.
We'd like to have your thoughts today on this sometimes difficult subject. What can be done to advance the treatment of mental illness? What are the difficulties faced by people who have mental illness - or have to deal with or care for someone in their family with that problem.
The Honourable Michael Kirby has joined us from a studio in Florida ...and he'll be staying with us throughout the program.
We want to hear from Canadians across the country ....how do you think Canada is doing in its handling of people with mental illness? Is there enough support ...for individuals and for families? Is there still a tendency to hide the problem? Are there too many people falling through the cracks in the system? How can the system be made better? If there are problems could they be solved by more money ...or is it a problem of organization?
Our question today: "Are governments across Canada doing enough for mental illness?"
Photograph of Rex Murphy courtesy of CBC.ca.
