A 10-part investigation into how British Columbia’s mental health system crumbled, how communities continue to suffer, and how we might rebuild with compassion and wisdom for the next seven generations.
⚠️ Content Warning: This series discusses mental illness, violence, trauma, and systemic neglect. Some details may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. 💛
🌩️ Part 1: The System We Inherited
From Riverview to the Streets
How did we get here?
Why are so many people with serious mental illness living in chaos, danger, and fear?
Why is the public repeatedly shocked by tragedies that feel preventable?
Let’s rewind…
🏥🌲 A Province of Locked Doors
When I was younger, names like Riverview and Matsqui sounded like dark fairytales — places where people were sent when they were “not well.”
People disappeared behind those huge brick walls and towering trees…
and society sighed in relief.
Riverview once held thousands.
It had farms, gardens, and decades of history.
It was a world behind a world.
But over time, the stories changed…
🧩 Abuse
🧩 Neglect
🧩 Human rights violations
The call came: shut it down.
And so Riverview slowly emptied.
🔓 Deinstitutionalization: The Great Unfinished Plan
The 80s and 90s said:
“No more warehousing. Care should happen in the community!”
Beautiful idea.
Deadly execution.
Beds were closed ✅
Buildings were demolished ✅
People were discharged ✅✅✅
But the community supports that were promised?
❌ Not enough housing
❌ Not enough psychiatric beds
❌ Not enough early intervention
❌ Not enough rehab or monitoring
❌ Not enough safety nets of any kind
People were released…
into ERs, shelters, jails, and the streets.
A whole system vanished, and nothing strong replaced it.
⚠️ When Care Fails, We All Fall
So now we see the tragic headlines:
🚨 Stranger stabbings on transit
🚨 Family members killed by loved ones in psychosis
🚨 People found not criminally responsible set free too soon
🚨 Public fear rising with each horrific event
Horror is the symptom.
Policy failure is the disease.
This is not about blaming people who are sick.
This is about government abandonment.
Because when mental healthcare collapses:
society doesn’t become safer
people don’t magically get better
Instead, risk walks among us
heartbreak multiplies
and trauma spreads like wildfire
💔 “Why didn’t anyone stop this?”
Families beg for help early
They are told:
“He’s not sick enough”
“She doesn’t qualify”
“Call when it’s an emergency”
And by the time it is…
it’s too late.
🌱 A New Vision: Safety AND Compassion
We can build something better.
We must invest in:
• Supportive housing
• Long-term forensic treatment beds
• Early intervention for youth
• Indigenous-led healing centers
• Culturally safe, trauma-informed care
• Real supervision and follow-up after NCR decisions
This is not about going backwards.
It’s about finally finishing the job that deinstitutionalization started.
A humane society keeps both
care and safety
at the heart of every decision. 💛
✨ Quote to Remember
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead
🔍 Reflective Questions for Readers
💭 What do you think is the biggest reason BC’s mental health system is failing?
💭 Have you or someone you know ever struggled to get proper help? What happened?
💭 How can our community balance compassion and public safety together?
💭 Who should be held accountable when systems fail and people get hurt?
👉 Up Next
📌 Part 2: When the System Fails — The Crimes That Should Have Never Happened
❤️👀🔥⭐🤗🤯🧠👂🤳✍️🦋🛑🚨📸
🗞️✨ A Call to All Brave and Humane Journalists ✨🗞️
To every journalist on Coast Salish Territory in British Columbia and around the world who continues shining light into the places where our systems have failed... thank you. Your courage cracks open the darkness so truth can breathe again. 🌟
We need you on this journey.
We need your questions.
We need your relentless pursuit of justice, dignity, and accountability.
Mental health is not a fringe issue.
It touches every family, every community, every one of us.
We are all stitched together in this shared human story. 🧡
Let’s uncover the truth, confront the failures, and create a future where compassion is not optional.
Together, we rise. Together, we heal. 🌱✨
#UnravelingTheSilence
#JournalismMatters
#WeAreAllOne
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