OPEN LETTER: There Has to Be a Better Way

 OPEN LETTER: There Has to Be a Better Way

To:
Hon. Josie Osborne, Minister of Health
Premier David Eby
Prime Minister Mark Carney
Psychiatrists and Medical Professionals across British Columbia
Indigenous Leaders and Healers
Directors of Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Centres
And to the People of British Columbia,

We write this letter out of grief, frustration, and an unwavering hope for change.

Our province is in crisis. We see the same names and faces cycling through the system—arrested, released, hospitalized, discharged, only to end up back on the streets, in the courts, or dead. Families are shut out by privacy laws. Doctors make rushed decisions. The system loses track. And the public, traumatized by repeated tragedies, is told to move on.

Enough is enough.

This letter is not an accusation. It is a plea—and a proposal. We believe that with compassion, collaboration, and the courage to admit what’s not working, there is a better way.

1. Emergency Stabilization with Oversight

We propose a system where people in severe crisis from addiction or psychosis can be compassionately placed in involuntary care for a short, medically necessary period—just long enough to withdraw safely, eat, rest, and be assessed. This care must be trauma-informed, culturally safe, and reviewed by independent oversight. No more releasing people to die on the streets because no one wants legal liability.

2. Restore Family Rights

Families—especially parents—are often barred from helping their adult children, even when it’s clear their child is in danger. At the same time, children as young as 12 can make life-altering decisions without a parent’s consent, and often without proper follow-up. This contradiction in the law is harming families and putting lives at risk. We need flexible, compassionate policies that include loved ones in care decisions when a person is clearly unable to make them alone.

3. Accountability in Psychiatry and Medical Practice

Psychiatrists and doctors are among the highest-paid professionals in the province, yet many people in crisis get 15-minute assessments and are sent away. There is no consistent follow-up, no continuity of care, and often no communication between providers. This cannot continue. We call for mandatory follow-up plans, cross-agency communication, and accountability for premature discharges and poor outcomes.

4. Honour Indigenous Knowledge and Healing

Indigenous communities have been disproportionately affected by addiction and mental health failures. Yet they also hold some of the most powerful models of healing. We must embed Indigenous knowledge, leadership, and culturally rooted approaches in every part of our mental health system—not as an afterthought, but as foundational practice.

5. Long-Term Care and Purpose

Once stabilized, people need housing, purpose, and community. We must provide real pathways to recovery: transitional housing, supported employment, skill-building, peer support, and reconnection to culture and identity. A society cannot call itself compassionate if it discards people after the crisis ends.

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We ask you—our leaders, our healers, and our fellow citizens—to rise to this moment with vision, compassion, and the urgency this crisis demands.

Let’s rebuild a system that doesn’t just patch wounds—it prevents them, heals them, and honours the lives at stake.

With respect and determination,
Tina Winterlik (aka Zipolita)

For all the families, communities, and lives we refuse to give up on.