Despite not securing a multi-million-dollar grant, a St. Thomas, Ont., non-profit is still determined to get its tiny affordable homes project off the ground. The YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin says its application for an $8-million grant with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for […]
Author: canadianguy
What you need to know about London’s proposed homeless hubs – CBC News [2023-07-18]
The much anticipated plan to help support the homeless population in London, Ont. will include 24/7 wrap around services in hubs that will cost $2.7 million each to run. A new 46-page report to be discussed by councillors next week outlines the details of […]
Arrest the homeless? London, Ont. councillor promotes controversial plan – Global News [2023-07-18]
A city councillor in London, Ont., is coming under fire after sharing a plan to address homelessness that suggested providing support that people need to get off the streets but arresting anyone who refuses assistance. Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson tweeted “London could be […]
London’s ‘game changer’ mental health-care model inspires revisioned plan in Windsor – CBC News [2023-07-17]
Just two hours up Highway 401 from Windsor, Ont., there’s a mental health and addictions crisis centre that is a “game changer” for the London community. Now, a Windsor hospital is eyeing the same model as it plans to re-submit a proposal to the […]
Real estate developers say homelessness, drugs hinder downtown London’s full-scale revival – CBC News [2023-07-17]
Real estate developers say homelessness, drugs and the prevalence of people suffering from severe mental illness is holding back the full-scale revival of downtown London by making it a hard sell for prospective office tenants as the core looks to turn the corner after […]
Former Ontario inmates say complaints system is broken after docs reveal medical concerns, abuse allegations – CBC News [2023-07-14]
A cancer survivor says he wasn’t given access to pain medication. A man who lost 42 pounds says he couldn’t get the right food for a medical condition. Another man felt like he was going to die after staying in the back of a […]
Thousands of Canadian drug users dying as government red tape limits help, advocates say – CBC News [2023-07-13]
The historic core of Cobourg, Ont., brims with small-town charm. There are stately buildings, quaint shops and old-fashioned iron lampposts decorated with hanging flower baskets. The local business authority even coined a hashtag, “#8BlocksofAwesome.” But on Friday nights, just steps off the postcard main […]
A new course teaches Ontario police recruits how to defuse a mental health crisis – CBC News [2023-07-07]
Ontario now offers an 18-hour course that teaches police recruits how to deal with people suffering from a mental health crisis, marking the first time such training has been offered to the province’s law enforcement cadets. The three-day training session was introduced last week […]
I became a mental health nurse despite my doubts. It was the best decision I ever made – CBC News [2023-07-07]
Crisis. It’s a state I’ve become all too familiar with as a mental health nurse, but it was still unknown territory the day my patient threatened to kill me. It was an evening shift almost two years ago. I had recently joined the psychiatry […]
‘An outhouse is one of the best things’: Temporary homeless depots begin in city parks – CTV News [2023-07-04]
A meal, water and a portable washroom was a nice surprise for Neil Hammell, who is living in an encampment off Wellington Valley Park in London, Ont., near the Thames River. “There’s no clean down here, there’s just different levels of dirty,” said Hammell, […]
Happy Canada Day!
City council votes yes to fund homeless encampment ‘service depots’ – CBC News [2023-06-28]
London city council is moving ahead with a plan to create four service depots for homeless populations in the downtown core. As London faces an escalating homelessness crisis, the plan to ramp up emergency response supports was pushed forward by city council at a […]
Why Doctors Are Moving Away from BMI – Psychology Today [2023-06-28]
If you’ve been to a doctor’s office or fitness center in recent years, you’ve likely had your Body Mass Index calculated. The BMI formula uses a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters. The resulting number is classified […]
People with Mental Illness Are More Likely to Be Abused by Law Enforcement – Psychology Today [2023-06-28]
“Every time the police come after me they make me madder,” says Richard Saville-Smith, Ph.D. Saville-Smith is an independent scholar in the United Kingdom who writes about madness. He lives with madness himself. In early June his wife was worried about him and she […]
Indigenous Justice and a New Path for Canada’s Prisons – The Tyee [2023-06-26]
When I asked Boyd Peters, a Sts’ailes First Nation member and BC First Nations Justice Council director, about the effects of long-term incarceration on Indigenous people, his brow furrowed. He exhaled and looked down before responding. “Nobody should have to go through that,” he […]
More supports needed to protect people with schizophrenia from extreme heat, experts say – CBC News [2023-06-24]
British Columbia’s 2021 heat dome killed people diagnosed with schizophrenia at a higher rate than those with any other chronic illness, according to recent findings from researchers at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). As extreme heat events are forecasted to become more […]
City of Barrie backs down on plan to ban giving food to homeless people on its property – CBC News [2023-06-21]
The city of Barrie, Ont., has backed away from proposed bylaws that would have made it illegal to distribute food, literature, clothes, tents and tarps to unhoused people on public property. At a meeting on Wednesday night, council decided unanimously to refer bylaws 67 […]
Edmonton MP to file official grievance about Taylor Swift tour’s lack of Canadian shows – Global News [2023-06-21]
Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux hopes Taylor Swift’s lack of Canadian stops on her Eras Tour is not about bad blood. In several posts on his social media accounts, the Conservative politician indicated he would follow Australia’s lead and file a grievance with Parliament to […]
What Is the Pseudo-Psychiatric Term Excited Delirium? – Psychology Today [2023-06-21]
A pseudo-psychiatric diagnosis is being used by police and other first responders. Ketamine and other tactics are then being used to subdue a person. Police and first responders to mental health crises need more training. Mental health professionals and the police must collaborate on […]
Daytime naps may be good for our brains, study says – CTV News [2023-06-20]
Taking daytime naps may help maintain brain health as we age, according to a new study. However, prior research has shown that excess napping can also be harmful. Habitual napping was linked with larger total brain volume, which is associated with a lower risk […]
London councillor called out by colleagues over light workload – CTV News [2023-06-21]
Simmering tensions about how the workload is being divided between councillors boiled over at city hall. On Tuesday, the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee was tasked with nominating two councillors to sit on the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority, and another to join the Lower […]
Why It Can be Hard to Get Pronouns Right, According to Linguistics – Mental Floss [2023-06-20]
It can happen to anyone: As you’re talking, you hear yourself say, “I heard that she—wait, I mean he!” A pronoun slip can be embarrassing, especially if you pride yourself on being generally good at using the language people have asked you to use. […]
Ontario the latest province to stop imprisoning migrants – CBC News [2023-06-16]
Ontario has joined seven other provinces in announcing it will no longer incarcerate migrants detained for administrative reasons in its provincial jails. Earlier this week, a Radio-Canada/CBC report revealed that Quebec and New Brunswick had ended their contracts with the Canada Border Services Agency […]
London police not doing enough to tackle systemic racism, policing expert says – CBC News [2023-06-16]
London police officials are not doing enough to analyze their own race-based use-of-force numbers to start tackling systemic racism within their organization, an expert in police data says. London police numbers crunched by researcher Tandeep Sidhu show Black people in the city experienced force […]
London’s opioid users say street drugs are getting stronger, cheaper and deadlier – CBC News [2023-06-16]
People who use fentanyl on the streets of London say the deadly opioid is becoming ever cheaper and more powerful, delivering higher highs, while simultaneously raising the risk of overdose death. Without widespread testing, there’s no way of knowing, but the city’s drug problem […]
