...MENTAL ILLNESS October 2001, just after September 11, he started acting and behaving erratically. He was not the same man we have known as Uncle Dan for the past few years. What has happened to him? Has he suffered from some type of mental illness? According to Canadian Health Association “mental illnesses can take many forms, just as physical illnesses do” (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2009). Uncle Dan was born and raised in a small town named Quesnel, located in the South Western part of Canada. Although his parents were not wealthy, they were not financially restricted either, due to the abundance of lumber mills in this region. They had pushed and financed their children education, for they knew that it was an investment into the future. Even though Uncle Dan’s parent never received a formal education, they were fully aware of the importance of going to college. As an honor graduate from the local High school, Uncle Dan received a scholarship from the province university, BC University, to continue his education. That year, he had met Julia, my mother’s younger sister, whom he married a year later. Shortly afterward, Dan dropped out of the University and returned home to work in a local mill. The only explanation that was given to his parents was “College is not meant for people like me.” While this was not the extent of Uncle Dan’s transformation, it was not enough of a significant warning sign that Uncle Dan had a mental issue. In fact, it was not until that...
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...Assignment 2: Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners 1.0 The Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners The treatment of mentally ill inmates has been not only a public concern, but has also been identified by Canada’s Correctional Investigator, Howard Sapers as an issue of concern in his 2014 report to parliament. Between 1997 and 2007, offenders entering the prison system with a mental disorder grew 71% in men and 61% in women (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2012). The problem at hand is that correctional institutes and their staff are not widely trained to deal with inmates who suffer from mental disorders. The result then, is that use-of-force interventions, and placement in solitary confinement, often for extended periods of time, are used as methods of dealing with unruly behaviours exhibited by these mentally ill offenders. While there are various issues surrounding mental health in the Canadian judicial system, for the purpose of this report, the discussion will be focused around inadequate methods for dealing with behaviours presented by these inmates, namely by use-of-force and solitary confinement 1.1 Use-Of-Force Techniques In Sapers 2014 report, it is reported that “28% of all use of force interventions involved an offender with a mental health concern as identified by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC)” (Ministry of Public Safety, 2014). This is likely due to the fact that mentally ill inmates are more likely to self-harm, have unpredictable behaviour...
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