Addictions and mental health an epidemic: Brantford councilor

Addictions and mental health problems are pushing more people to a life on the streets, says a Brantford city councilor.

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“We have another epidemic in our community and that is addictions and mental health,” Coun. Brian Van Tilborg said at a Tuesday operations committee meeting. “I can’t understand how one might think that allowing people who are driven by their addiction to chose a life on the street and wither away before our eyes is good for them, the community or anyone.

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“The last number of years have been really painful and I think we all see what’s happening in our neighborhoods.”

Van Tilborg made the comments after councilors voted to declare gender-based and intimate partner violence an epidemic in Brantford. He also said the resources needed to help those afflicted with addiction or mental health problems aren’t available.

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“When some of these people, in a moment of clarity, want help, they find they have to wait and the opportunity to help them is lost,” Van Tilborg said.

People living on the streets start stealing to feed their addictions which hurts residents and puts a strain on police. However, those arrested are soon released from custody and the cycle resumes without any accountability or help, in the form of rehabilitation, being provided, Van Tilborg said.

“We don’t have a local jail to handle nuisance crimes and we have nowhere to treat them,” Van Tilborg said. “Residents would really like to see some change.

“They want help to be available to those who need it and they want a safer community.”

A resolution brought to councilors by Van Tilborg calling for the province to provide effective and mandatory treatment for those with addiction and mental health issues received unanimous support at a city council operations committee meeting on Tuesday. The motion also calls for the federal government to open a facility closed to Brantford that is similar to the former Burtch Correctional Centre.

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In addition to making the community safer, the measures would help save some lives, Van Tilborg said.

Coun. Greg Martin spoke in favor of Van Tilborg’s resolution.

“This is something logical and makes a lot of sense which means the other levels of government unfortunately won’t act on it,” Coun. Greg Martin said. “It’s unfortunate because it’s a great idea and one that needs to happen.

“One of the problems we have in Brantford is when we lost our local jail we started sending all of our criminals to Milton.”

Local criminals sent to the Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton can network with those from Toronto, learn from them and bring big city crime to Brantford, Martin said.

Coun. Linda Hunt said help for those suffering from mental health issues and addictions is chronically underfunded.

The lack of resources is failing the community who are impacted by addiction-related crimes, Hunt said.

“I feel that we’re mired in a generational catastrophe,” Hunt said. “It’s just a vicious cycle and I don’t know when it will ever end.”

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