The Mayor of Kamloops is pushing to re-evaluate the current outpatient model for mental health care.

At Tuesday’s meeting he asked city council to support a call to request Southern Interior Local Government Association review the matter. Ken Christian says in his observation there is a sub-set of our homeless population that is suffering from chronic mental illness, and there are some people that are really not able to manage their own journey on the streets of Kamloops.

Christian believes there needs to be a better solution. “To have them bounce between lock-up in RCMP cells or One South or the Emergency department at the hospital is really not the best solution. Some of these people are not just hard to house, they’re impossible to house.”

“About using an out-patient model for individuals, that really their med-regime and things like that, is difficult for them to manage without that ongoing support. The wrap around services are good, but they’re kind of spotty when you get into a time of crisis.”

Christian says he has spoken with the mayors of Prince George and Nanaimo who have similar concerns. “One of the things that we are doing is asking our local government associations to talk about this problem and is there some other model in terms of the ability of the community to respond to those individuals who may need a more residential setting to manage their illness.”