Sarnia, Ont. police delete tweet about woman’s shoplifting arrest following backlash – CTV News [2023-07-30]

2023-08-202023-08-20 — Police, Poverty — 1 min read

Sarnia police have removed a Twitter post about a woman who was arrested for allegedly shoplifting food and cleaning supplies, acknowledging that it was “not in keeping” with their “internal and community expectations.”

The tweet, which included a photo of the groceries in question, was posted on Friday afternoon and was titled: “Strike 3…. YOU ARE GOING FOR BAIL.”

It read: “A female was arrested today, after she was caught for the third time this month stealing from the same retail store. She was held for bail to prevent her from continuing to reoffend.” and included the hashtag #fivefingerdiscount.

Read more here:

CTV News
July 30, 2023

Six alternatives to youth incarceration in Canada – rabble.ca [2023-07-27]

2023-08-202023-08-20 — Corrections, Youth — 1 min read

Evidence shows putting children behind bars leads to overall worse general adult health, higher recidivism rates and lower life expectancies. Despite this, Canada continues to jail youth by the tens of thousands each year.

But a new report from the Sentencing Project presents six effective alternatives to child incarceration. While their findings reflect American statistics, it offers a blueprint for Canada to adopt some alternatives of its own.

Last year, Statistics Canada reported a dramatic and unprecedented decline in the number of incarcerated youth in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a decrease of 27 per cent, Canada has already demonstrated there are safe alternatives to incarcerating young people in the name of health, safety and human rights.

Those numbers marked the largest drop in youth incarceration since the Youth Criminal Justice Act came into effect, reaching its lowest point in February 2021 with 449 youth incarcerated.

Additionally, the average daily count of young people in jail awaiting trial went down by one quarter from March 2020 to March 2021. During that time period, over 10,000 youth were admitted to correctional facilities.

Read more here:

rabble.ca
July 27, 2023

Build and fund a drug rehab centre in London, mayor tells premier – CBC News [2023-07-25]

2023-08-20 — Substance Use — 1 min read

London should be the first city in Ontario to get any newly-built publicly-funded addiction rehab facilities, Mayor Josh Morgan says.

“Treatment is health care, and so it’s not something the city can do. This is a fully provincial responsibility and only the province can help us and our citizens and residents,” Morgan told CBC News.

Morgan, Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis and Coun. Susan Stevenson are asking for other councillors’ support to advocate for a provincial addiction rehabilitation centre in London.

“It would mean a great deal for those in our community who need affordable addiction treatment. We know across the province there is a lack of affordable options. There are many options available for those who have the wealth to be able to move into that space but for those who need more support, it’s just not there,” Morgan said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the pledge to move “full steam ahead” to build new publicly funded addiction rehab centres during a radio interview on July 14.

Private rehab facilities are out of reach for many people, Ford said.

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CBC News
July 25, 2023

Sinéad O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U

2023-08-202023-08-20 — Music — 1 min read

Sinéad O’Connor, Irish singer and political activist, dead at 56 – CBC News [2023-07-26]

2023-08-202023-08-20 — Miscellaneous, Music — 1 min read

Sinéad O’Connor, the Irish singer who rose to fame in the 1990s with a hit recording of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U and became known for her outspoken political activism and mental health struggles, has died at 56.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” the singer’s family said in a statement reported Wednesday by the BBC and RTE.

Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar paid tribute to the singer on social media, calling her talent “unmatched.”

“Condolences to her family, her friends and all who loved her music,” he wrote.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 26, 2023

A new study finds a strong link between depression and dementia – CTV News [2023-07-24]

2023-08-202023-08-20 — Mental Health — 1 min read

A diagnosis of depression in adulthood could more than double your risk of developing dementia in older age, according to a new study.

The study, published Monday in the journal JAMA Neurology, used data from more than 1.4 million Danish citizens who were followed from 1977 to 2018, said lead study author Dr. Holly Elser, epidemiologist and resident physician in neurology at the University of Pennsylvania.

People were identified as having a depression diagnosis or not and followed throughout the years to see who developed dementia later in life, the study said. Researchers adjusted for factors like education, income, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, substance use disorder and bipolar disorder.

The large dataset and numerous analyses researchers used made their findings strong and reliable, but the study is limited by the unavailability of information like genetic data, said Dr. Natalie Marchant, associate professor in the division of psychiatry at University College London. Marchant was not involved in the research.

Read more here:

CTV News
July 24, 2023

Council endorses homeless hub plan, despite concerns about cost and capacity – CBC News [2023-07-24]

2023-08-20 — Housing, Poverty — 2 min read

The City of London has moved a step closer to approving a multi-million dollar plan to open a series of neighbourhood service hubs intended to provide life-saving supports and pathways to housing for those suffering through an increasingly deadly homelessness crisis.

The plan was approved by a 11-4 vote in council sitting as the Strategic Priorities and Police Committee after almost six hours of discussion held solely to debate the hub plan.

Months in the making, the plan will allow the city to enter a procurement process to set up three to five hubs before the end of the year, with the possibility of expanding to up to 15 hubs in the future.

The hubs will be places where those who sleep outside — they number about 2,000 — can get access to basic services such as food, water, a temporary bed, bathroom and shower facilities but also begin the process of accessing supportive housing. The hubs are intended to stabilize the most acute cases so they can be safe while they’re assessed and connected with the services they need.

The report says the need for expanded services is urgent as more than 200 people who have a history of accessing services in London have died since 2020.

CBC News
July 24, 2023

Kids who go hungry more likely to access care for mental health, substance use: Ontario study – CBC News [2023-07-24]

2023-08-202023-08-20 — Mental Health, Poverty, Substance Use, Youth — 1 min read

Toronto resident Rhonda Miller knows how difficult it can be to afford the basic necessities.

The 52-year-old lives in an apartment with her daughter and two granddaughters, who are nine and six.

Rising rent and food prices mean Miller has to sometimes choose between paying her bills or buying groceries.

“I leave the bills until I can afford it, because I have to get the food,” she told CBC News.

The Millers rely on social assistance and income from some part-time work, but they say it’s not enough to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

“It’s really difficult because sometimes the food, what I want [my grandchildren] to eat, I can’t afford it, because the budget,” said Miller, noting she worries about the impact on their health.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 24, 2023

Volunteering in late life may protect the brain against cognitive decline and dementia – Science Daily [2023-07-20]

2023-08-20 — Mental Health — 1 min read

Volunteering in late life is associated with better cognitive function — specifically, better executive function and episodic memory. Those are the findings of a new study from UC Davis Health presented today (July 20) at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2023 in Amsterdam.

“We hope these new data encourage individuals of all ages and backgrounds to engage in local volunteering — not only to benefit their communities, but potentially their own cognitive and brain health,” said Donna McCullough, Alzheimer’s Association chief mission and field operations officer.

Volunteer activities — such as supporting educational, religious, health-related or other charitable organizations — allow older adults to be more physically active, increase social interaction and provide cognitive stimulation that may protect the brain. However, there has been a lack of information on the relationship between volunteering and cognitive function, especially in large, diverse populations.

Read more here:

Science Daily
July 20, 2023

U.S. father, son drove 2 days to Ontario just for ketchup chips – CTV News [2023-07-22]

2023-08-202023-08-20 — Miscellaneous — 1 min read

An American father-son duo drove for two days in an old army Jeep just to buy ketchup chips in Canada last week.

“We only crossed the border to buy the chips,” Rich Lieberman told CTV News Toronto on Saturday after buying 40 burgundy bags of Lay’s potato chips only available in Canada.

Lieberman and his 15-year-old son, Jacob, boarded their old army Jeep, which only travels approximately 70 kilometres per hour, in Virginia and set their sights on Niagara Falls, Ont.

“We joked it was a grocery run,” he said. “We had some time to kill before school starts.”

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CTV News
July 22, 2023

Poilievre calls Niagara Falls home ‘tiny little shack,’ apologizes to tenant – CTV News [2023-07-21]

2023-08-19 — Housing — 1 min read

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he has apologized to a woman in Niagara Falls, Ont. for calling her home a “tiny little shack” in an attempt to illustrate high housing costs in the area.

“Housing costs under (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau have doubled, and it is not a global phenomenon, it is unique to Canada,” Poilievre said at a press conference Wednesday.

“I’ll give you just one example. It costs $550,000 for a tiny little shack,” he also said, before listing a specific address. “You can go check it out yourself.”

The home — a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1.5-story home on a half-acre lot — is on the market for $539,900.

“He called it a shack. A shack,” the house’s tenant, Asha Letourneau, told CHCH. “That was a little embarrassing, also because it’s not.”

According to CHCH, Letourneau works as a waitress and saw Poilievre’s comments online after working a night shift.

“It’s not the greatest house on the street, but it’s definitely not a shack,” she told CHCH.

Read more here:

CTV News
July 21, 2023

Brant County man swimming across Lake Ontario to raise awareness for mental health – CBC News [2023-07-20]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Mental Health — 1 min read

As he swims across Lake Ontario, swinging one arm over the other for 51 kilometres straight, Jason Kloss may seem alone — but he won’t be.

His grandfather, Dick Kloss, and friend, Mike Kuipers, both of whom died during the pandemic, will be in the Paris, Ont., man’s mind, pushing him to finish what he started.

“That hit me really hard,” Jason, 35, told CBC Hamilton in a phone interview, a few weeks ahead of his long-distance swim.

His goal is to not only cross the lake but also raise $50,000 toward the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, also known as CAMH, in Toronto.

Jason said he’s been preparing by swimming every morning for up to three hours but he’s no stranger to lake swims.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 20, 2023

‘This is an investment’: City staff justify London, Ont. homeless hubs plan – Global News [2023-07-19]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Housing, Poverty — 1 min read

City councillors will debate the much-talked-about hub implementation plan to address London’s growing homelessness crisis in a special committee meeting next week.

A 46-page report details the steps taken so far, including community engagement, and what immediate steps are needed next, including a request from council to endorse the plan, including a capital budget of $10 million to renovate existing spaces for the first five hub locations.

Officials behind the hubs plan say the goal is to offer a space for those most acutely in need of a safe space to get them off the streets, stabilized, and eventually into housing.

“If we are able to provide folks with space to be inside, have health-care and have access to the resources they need, something can change,” said Sean Warren, a care facilitator with the London Intercommunity Health Centre and a co-chair of the hubs implementation table.

Read more here:

Global News
July 19, 2023

St. Thomas police dismantle homeless camp, frustrating some outreach workers – CBC News [2023-07-19]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Housing, Police, Poverty — 1 min read

St. Thomas has dismantled a well-established encampment where people had set up tents and built make-shift shelters, angering outreach workers who say the people there have nowhere else to go.

“What typically happens is they have to see if there’s room in the shelter or find another place to camp. The people who tend to camp like this are challenged with shelter stay, it’s not always safe for them, so they might be driven further into the woods, where their camps won’t be dismantled,” said Jackie Moore, the coordinator of The Nameless, a volunteer-run group that supports people experiencing homelessness.

“They create a community within themselves that meets hygienic standards and safety standards for themselves, and then something like this happens and they get told to move, but there’s no supports, nowhere else for them to go.”

St. Thomas police say the camp had to be taken down because it was unsafe and that workers with a mental health outreach team connected with the campers to provide them with supports.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 19, 2023

Who was behind London’s big banana giveaway? Now we know. – CBC News [2023-07-19]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Society — 2 min read

Months after spreading potassium and positivity across London, the man who gave out thousands of free bananas and sparked speculation from hundreds of Londoners has agreed to share his motivations.

Tyler Lockhart, 21, says his generosity wasn’t inspired by a thirst for fame or praise, but rather a firsthand understanding of what those in need are facing.

“I was living out of my car at the time and I saw all these people living on the street. I was reading the Bible a lot, and I wanted to be more Christlike,” said Lockhart. “I wanted to help those that needed the food right now. Not in a month, or two weeks.”

In April, CBC London published a story about Lockhart’s ‘bananthropy’ and the speculation and scavenger hunt that ensued in local online communities thanks to the mysterious nature of the generosity. One local group that focuses on giving to those in need became a hub for banana sightings, with dozens of posts showcasing the various locations Lockhart had dropped off stacks of free bananas.

Online speculation as to why someone was filling the streets with fruit ranged from undercover marketing campaigns to generosity.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 19, 2023

St. Thomas-Elgin YWCA to press forward with tiny homes despite denial of $8M grant – Global News [2023-07-18]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Housing — 1 min read

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 its rapid housing initiative was declined.

YWCA executive director Lindsay Rice tells Global News her CMHC rep told the St. Thomas team they had a very competitive bid, but there was one category where they lagged behind others.

“CMHC allocates additional points to the communities they believe are in the deepest need for affordable housing,” said Rice. “Unfortunately, we just weren’t awarded those points in that area even though we know how much of a housing crisis St. Thomas is faced with right now.”

Read more here:

Global News
July 18, 2023

What you need to know about London’s proposed homeless hubs – CBC News [2023-07-18]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Housing, Poverty — 1 min read

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 a plan that would see as many as 15 hubs open in the city with the aim of getting people into supportive housing.

The goal is to open three to five hubs by the end of 2023 in different neighbourhoods, excluding Old East Village, Dundas Place and Richmond Row.

“The system will support the highest acuity Londoners to move safely inside, help them get stabilized, wrap around them with supports, connect them to the right housing and help them stay housed,” the report said.

“Every interaction is an active and intentional effort to meet people where they’re at, supporting an individual’s next steps toward housing.”

Read more here:

CBC News
July 18, 2023

Arrest the homeless? London, Ont. councillor promotes controversial plan – Global News [2023-07-18]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Housing, Mental Health, Police, Poverty, Society — 1 min read

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 first” followed by an emoji face with hearts around it and a link to a blog post from Michael Smerconish, a political commentator in the United States.

In the post, Smerconish writes that shelter should be offered to those who live on the streets on the condition that they accept drug counseling if they are addicted, mental health services if they have mental health issues, and must work or be looking for work if able to do so.

“If they don’t do these things and return to the streets despite the availability of shelter, they can and should be arrested, for they will not be homeless. No one should be allowed to live in the public spaces of our cities,” he writes.

Read more here:

Global News
July 18, 2023

London’s ‘game changer’ mental health-care model inspires revisioned plan in Windsor – CBC News [2023-07-17]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Mental Health — 1 min read

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 province after its original one was turned down.

Since 2015, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Thames Valley branch has operated a 24/7 crisis centre where anyone with mental health or addictions issues can walk in, 365 days a year.

And in 2020, Ontario legislation allowed paramedics to drop off those patients, giving them access to specialized services in one location.

The goal was to alleviate overburdened emergency rooms and gets first responders back on the road faster.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 17, 2023

Real estate developers say homelessness, drugs hinder downtown London’s full-scale revival – CBC News [2023-07-17]

2023-08-19 — Housing, Mental Health, Society, Substance Use — 2 min read

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 the COVID-19 pandemic.

The downtown has long been the beating heart of London, Ont., where street life moved to the pulse of rush hour traffic and the nine-to-five crowd, whose rhythms made the neighbourhood’s tangle of offices, shops and restaurants teem with life for 10 hours a day, five days a week.

But then the virus upended everything, throwing off the core’s rhythm and gutting its office sector when remote work suddenly replaced the commute, accelerating the decadeslong flight of office workers to the suburbs while doubling the city’s homeless population.

Since the virus peaked, the downtown still bears the scars. Empty offices and shops are hidden behind colourfully-painted plywood facades — public art that stands in sharp contrast to the nearby scenes of urban squalor where the unsheltered and the drug-addled lie slumped in the streets as passersby pretend not to notice.

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CBC News
July 17, 2023

Former Ontario inmates say complaints system is broken after docs reveal medical concerns, abuse allegations – CBC News [2023-07-14]

2023-08-192023-08-19 — Corrections — 1 min read

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 hot van for hours during the summer.

A person reported being sexually assaulted.

These are just some of the complaints by inmates at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre that were lodged in 2022 to a provincial phone line. It’s the same facility where prisoners went on hunger strikes in 2020, 2021 and earlier this year, due to what some have called poor conditions inside the maximum-security jail.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 14, 2023

Thousands of Canadian drug users dying as government red tape limits help, advocates say – CBC News [2023-07-13]

2023-07-132023-07-13 — Substance Use — 2 min read

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 street, another side of life comes into view. Volunteers are setting up camp chairs and folding tables in an alleyway and laying out supplies, including alcohol swabs, plastic pipes and naloxone kits to be used in case of overdoses. All for an unsanctioned, pop-up safe site for local drug users, specifically geared to people who inhale rather than inject.

“It just seemed that there was more and more need, and more and more people dying,” said Ashley Smoke, one of the organizers. “There’s just so many people that are struggling and no one to help.”

Cobourg, home to 20,000 on the shore of Lake Ontario east of Toronto, has had a dozen fatal overdoses over the past 18 months. The nearest official safe consumption site is in Peterborough, almost 60 kilometres away. And like all government-funded harm reduction facilities in Ontario — and most of the rest of the country — it doesn’t permit drug smoking, just injection, oral and nasal use.

Smoke said the cost of not having supervised spaces for those who inhale drugs can be seen in Canada’s near-record overdose numbers.

“The consequences have been death. A lot of people have lost their lives. There’s just so much loss and grief,” they said.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 13, 2023

I became a mental health nurse despite my doubts. It was the best decision I ever made – CBC News [2023-07-07]

2023-07-072023-07-07 — Mental Health — 1 min read

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 unit at the Montreal General Hospital and was finding my footing.

While walking the halls and passing out patients’ medications, I suddenly felt a presence close behind me.

A chill ran through me as I whirled around and came face to face with a young woman — a patient of mine who was prone to sudden and violent outbursts.

Her hands were balled into fists and raised toward me. She began hollering that she was going to kill me.

I was cornered and alone. Fighting my natural fight-or-flight response, I knew I needed to push aside any preconceived thoughts I had about people in crisis and attempt to de-escalate the situation.

Read more here:

CBC News
July 7, 2023