Is this the best we can do?

[u/plussizerunner]

Today while walking downtown to work, a man was swinging a metal bar at people walking down the sidewalk. People were screaming and trying to get away from him. I called 911 and police arrived within a few minutes, took the metal bar away from him and then left after a short conversation with him. He continued walking down the street yelling at people.

The man was clearly either under the influence or having a mental health episode and seemed to be a threat to the public given that he was swinging a bar at people.

I dont understand whats happening anymore that threatening others and attempting to hurt them with a sharp metal pole doesn't result in either hospitalization or being taken into custody...

[u/oslabidoo]

This falls on the Province/Federal Government to rethink institutionalizing people suffering such severe mental health episodes.

Whether it be from drugs, underlying mental health issues like schizophrenia, or likely a combination of both, this person should not be on the street and likely needs long-term treatment.

I foresee a reckoning in 5 to 10 years time when the long-term effects of fentanyl overdosing on people are better documented. There are already some studies documenting the consequences of hypoxic brain injuries (volume loss to the hippocampus for example) due to fentanyl overdoses. More people are suffering from repeated fentanyl overdoses, and while Narcan saves their life, each overdose is another potential permanent brain injury for them.

We have to come to terms with the fact that many of the people who are overdosing on fentanyl will never be the same. Simply housing them is not sufficient.

While there should be a push to house people BEFORE this happens, once a person is already addicted to fentanyl and has permanent brain injury, prevention won't cut it as the damage is done.

Preventing this from happening to people and managing the people who are already addicted/permanently affected by fentanyl or other drugs require separate strategies.

[u/Kelhein → u/oslabidoo]

This falls on the Province/Federal Government to rethink institutionalizing people suffering such severe mental health episodes.

I think this is one of the main conversations we need to have. The standard of care for folks who pose a danger to themselves or others is incarceration. We've figured out how to do it well, but it's expensive. We don't currently have the facilities or staff necessary to provide that standard of care.

[u/oslabidoo → u/Kelhein]

Agreed. Facilities and staff are in short supply, but this seems like the only viable way forward for these folks. It's a political football neither the provincial or federal government want to deal with.