WHEREAS it is well-documented that the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill and the emergence of a large number of dually diagnosed mentally ill and drug addicted people have resulted in thousands of mentally ill people living extremely marginalized and tragic lives in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, as well as in other communities in BC; AND WHEREAS it has been demonstrated that approximately one third of police-attended incidents in the City of Vancouver involve a person whose mental health was a contributing factor to police attendance, that equates to approximately 9 million per year in police resources consumed because of the lack of capacity in the mental health system: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request that the provincial government of BC take all necessary steps to expedite the provision of resources to ensure the mentally ill particularly those who are dually diagnosed are provided adequate care in the health system to allow for proper treatment and dignified living circumstances, and to reduce the draw on municipally funded police resources.
Ministry of Health Services The Ministry of Health Services has invested in a better-integrated, community-based program of Mental Health and Addictions treatment options. In July 2008, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority opened the first 30 beds of the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction to provide assessment and treatment for persons with both addiction and mental health challenges who are unable to function in community based mental health and addiction facilities. The centre will provide approximately 100 treatment beds and the remaining 70 beds are anticipated to be ready by the end of the year. The Province has increased by 150 percent the number of community addiction beds since 2003, for a total of almost 2,200 today. The Province added almost 3,000 new community mental health beds since 2001, for a total complement of more than 7,700 beds. Mental health and addictions sector expenditures for 200708 were approximately 1.2 billion, an increase of more than 35 per cent since 200001. Additional efforts to guide them to healthier lives will be immediately launched, as an updated 10-year mental health plan is also completed. As well, the Government of BC has introduced the Community Court in Vancouver, which will work with about 1,500 offenders each year. It will have health and social services work together in an integrated approach to manage offenders and address the underlying health and social problems that lead to crime.