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Mental health
Help for ‘tortured’ souls Car 67 is helping thousands of people with mental illness get back on their feet
(Photo illustration: AMY REID)
Story and photos by Amy Reid Now staff Twitter @amyreid87
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t’s one o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon and nurse Mary is about to hop into a police car for a 12-hour shift on the road. Where her shift will take her is anyone’s guess. Mary is a psychiatric nurse with Car 67, a mental health and addictions program done in partnership between Surrey RCMP and Fraser Health. Through the program, teams of uniformed officers and nurses are called in to provide mobile assessments and crisis intervention when mental health issues present themselves. Last year, they had 1,800 calls for service. Over her 14 years with the program since its inception, Mary says she has seen it all. She once responded to a woman living in a Surrey park who felt that everyone was out to get her. “She wasn’t seeing doctors, she was very ill,” Mary recalled. “Over time we got her some mental health care and her own place. From living in the bush for two years in Surrey to having housing
and treatment, it’s pretty amazing. “I can’t describe to you how tortured these people are sometimes from their illness. When you believe everyone is out to harm you or after you, you don’t feel safe. It’s a horrible life to lead.” Mary has also helped elderly people who don’t realize their inability to care for themselves after dementia sets in. And she’s helped people on the street who have constant contact with police. One such man comes to Mary’s mind. The man was homeless and in and out of jail for a number of years. He would pace outside of peoples’ homes, rant at people at bus stops and would even charge into courtrooms during proceedings. In 2010, he had 76 interactions with police. After help from Car 67 and other RCMP programs, Mary said, he became housed and had just three police contacts in 2014. “He’s happy, he’s off the street, he’s feeling better. This is somebody with a chronic mental illness who’s finally on the right path. It took a lot of time, but it was a team effort. “When you can relieve people from that, and give them that freedom to be able to live, that’s what we all strive to do. It’s hugely satisfying.”
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