THE VILLAGE

It is said that it takes a village to raise a child; it also takes a village to care for the ill and the disabled. The social footprint of any disability includes not only family and friends but also the professionals of all stripes who contribute to their care. Mental illness is a disability, in this and many other important ways. This social footprint causes a shift in the family dynamic of those who are affected. It is moving us away from the “nuclear family” whose family unit consists of a husband, wife and their children. When children reach a certain age they are expected to leave home in hopes of creating another similar unit on their own. This model had its start in the nineteen- fifties, which had a high standard of living and a prosperous economy. During the depression however, people lived in “extended families”, where two or three generations lived under the same roof and the neighbours would often share in many of their duties.

The community has a powerful role in the treatment and recovery of anyone suffering from a mental illness, and they will never become well in a community that does accept and tolerate them. They cannot remain outcasts from the village; they are your friends, your family. You see them every day on the bus, in the malls and on the street, and you wouldn’t know most of them were mentally from looking at them. They used to be hidden away in hospitals, never to see the light of day, but things have changed.

Institutions first began closing their doors out of economic necessity; because housing people in hospitals was very expensive, but there were very few supports in place in the community for these individuals, causing some serious social problems. “Psychiatric Ghettos” sprung up around the hospitals, filled with patients from all over the district, who had been tossed out and who were forced to fend for themselves.

Supports were eventually created, like free clinics, drug plans and affordable housing. This was also out of economic necessity, since the cost of these services was still much less than the cost of warehousing people in institutions.

Hospitalization became even more unnecessary when effective medications were developed to treat the symptoms of mental illness with fewer side effects and less chance of a relapse. Their struggle is now to find acceptance and a place in the community. They now have a chance to contribute to the society that supports them. They have a chance to lead normal lives.

However, there is still a great deal of stigma associated with mental illness. Housing programs have been struggling against the attitude of “not in our backyard”. People accept the need for housing, but don’t want it in their neighbourhood. There have been protests, petitions and demonstrations; even city aldermen have gotten into the act. The best way to fight this stigma is through public education about the facts of mental illness.
We refuse to be driven out of our homes.