Fractured system
In the zeal to demonize and sensationalize Mr. Schoenborn, what is missing is
the analysis that this tragedy and many others like it would not have occurred
had this man received mental-health assessment and treatment prior to the deaths
of his children.
Like too many people, it was only after he was arrested that was he assessed, diagnosed and treated for a psychiatric disorder.
As a social worker, I have worked with hundreds of individuals who have experienced various degrees of mental illness. Some were able to cope with milder forms, others were completely debilitated and their lives were in ruin.
The commonality among almost all of them is that it was virtually impossible for them to access mental-health services in a timely and responsive way in B.C.'s fractured, underfunded and understaffed mental-health system.
Like too many people, it was only after he was arrested that was he assessed, diagnosed and treated for a psychiatric disorder.
As a social worker, I have worked with hundreds of individuals who have experienced various degrees of mental illness. Some were able to cope with milder forms, others were completely debilitated and their lives were in ruin.
The commonality among almost all of them is that it was virtually impossible for them to access mental-health services in a timely and responsive way in B.C.'s fractured, underfunded and understaffed mental-health system.
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