The Mental Decline of Mr. Rogers

The double entendre of the article title "The Mental Decline of Mister Rogers" and the irony of it was not lost on me. Fred Rogers, the infamous children's television host, who strongly endorsed every person's self worth from his neighbourhood of make believe, would feel very sorry for the other Mr. Rogers.

Unfortunately, our neighbourhoods are not so special for those with serious mental illnesses.

The government has boosted the economy on the backs of the mentally ill. This started when the provincial
Mental Health advocate was let go in 2001. Her mandate was to determine what was needed for those with mental illness in our province and guide the Ministry of health to where the problems were. Unfortunately and probably not coincidentally, as soon as she was critical of government she was let go. The government said they could do her job themselves. In firing her they removed the protection on mental health funding which has resulted in mental health money being used to offset deficits in other areas of health, and made it infinitely more difficult for people with disabilities to access income, housing, specialized care, and pharmaceutical supports. Mister Rogers would not be impressed with the horrible and embarrassing situation that has resulted.

Our office has recently erected barriers to protect ourselves from violent outbursts. One of our staff has been assaulted by a mentally ill person who was off his medication. We have had other close calls. We have panic alarms. Our sense of safety and security has been compromised. Our clients, those with mental illness who are in poverty and suffering from neglect and abuse are being criminalized for want of care. They are living independently when they shouldn't be, and many are homeless most of the time. Some are too mentally ill to qualify for homeless shelter, or turn to addictions to numb their pain which just makes their situations worse. Others are dying from suicide. The danger created to front line workers, as we have already sadly experienced in our community hospital, is real and potentially deadly. The danger created for those suffering from terrible crippling mental illness is a life of torment and hopelessness. Is this really the kind of neighbourhood we want? If you are not lucky enough to have the right family, the right finances, the right connections then you end up like the other Mr. Rogers.

It is up to us, the electorate, to demand change. To demand that the most vulnerable among us be provided compassionate, responsive, efficient and when necessary, institutionalized care so that they may lead peaceful and happy lives.

In accepting his Lifetime Achievement Award, Mister Rogers speech was simple but eloquent: "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence."

Take ten seconds and think about how fortunate you have been, with loving and enduring families, and then think about how you can and should contribute to help people like Barry Rogers become who he is capable of being. It is possible to help him find peace, dignity, stability and purpose, so instead of being someone to fear, he could simply become our newspaper delivery person in whose skilled hands we can trust our broken bicycle.