B.C. has opened 28 new involuntary care beds, but this treatment has always existed for people certified under the Mental Health Act. Three people share their stories.
“I am alive,” Nicole Luongo says, “stably employed, stably housed, all of those things, despite going to treatment — not because of it.”
Involuntary care — forced hospitalization under the Mental Health Act — is controversial.
It elicits strong opinions from people who say they’ve been either harmed or helped by the treatment, which the B.C. government is ramping up in an effort to tamp down violent acts by people struggling with mental illness and substance use.
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Vancouver defence lawyer Kyla Lee, though, maintains expanding involuntary care will inappropriately strip away constitutional rights from people who can still make decisions, even if they do have a drug addiction. She adds research shows forced treatment doesn’t work in the long run for many substance users.
The B.C. Mental Health Association concedes forced detention “may be a needed last resort” for anyone at extreme risk of violence, but argues society’s focus should instead be on improving supports so people never reach crisis point.
