It was a mistake to close down that long-term care institutions. Mentally unhealthy patients do not belong in jails, shelters or on the streets. We need to protect them from others and from themselves, as well as protect others from them.
Why is this important?
The Rideau Regional Centre was closed in 2009. At the city’s homeless shelters, some studies have found the percentage of long-term residents with a mental or developmental disability to be as high as 70 per cent. We can do better than that.
