He had been experiencing homelessness for the last seven years, and sadly his mental health and overall well-being quickly declined. He was known as a pleasant person to interact with, but he became a cause for numerous calls for service, accumulating several charge files, and his behaviour started to escalate.
Last summer, HELP became familiar with this community member, offering transportation, court supports, clothing, food, and medical aid, and he eventually accepted the HELP program. However, working with him became very difficult, as his addictions and mental health would often dictate his ability to follow through with appointments and receiving support.
HELP was later able to coordinate with the Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACT), a unit from Alberta Health Services that is comprised of mental health nurses, social workers, and psychiatrists. ACT was able to successfully complete a proper assessment on him, which determined that he suffered from a mental illness. ACT was then able to facilitate providing proper medication for him, drastically changing his mental and physical health for the better.
We are happy to report that this community member recently moved into his own apartment and is no longer living on the streets! Being connected to the proper resources, he has not created calls for service like he used to and has become much more accountable for his actions.
One of West Division’s patrol members, Cst. Golosov, got to know this community member fairly well over the years. With knowledge of his recent successes, Cst. Golosov shared his experiences, “He wasn’t in his situation by choice. The thing with him was that he never expected anything from anyone; I dealt with him 20 or 30 times and he never blamed anyone for his situation and never asked for anything from those around him. I remember after taking him to the hospital for the second time, and listening to him for three hours, I knew his problems were not just addictions related. I think the consistency of visits from HELP allowed him to accept them into his reality and I’m glad that he was given the opportunity and the chance to change.”
