Halifax stabbing shows need for more mental health resources, says advocate for homeless people

An advocate for homeless people in downtown Halifax says a case in which a young homeless woman with a history of mental illness allegedly stabbed a six-year-old boy underscores the need for more robust mental health supports in Nova Scotia. 

"My heart just went out to the child and the mother right away," said Lucas Goltz, program co-ordinator for Downtown Halifax's Navigator Outreach Program that provides support for unhoused people in the area.

"I hope that this can be used to just highlight some of the great need for mental health resources in the HRM."

Elliott Chorny, 19, was arrested and charged with attempted murder following the stabbing on Barrington Street near Scotia Square Mall on Feb. 23. The boy is now in stable condition.

Chorny's mother, Andrea Hancock, told CBC News this week that she had tried to get Chorny help for years, even going so far as to warn police, shelters, social workers and doctors that her daughter was a danger to herself and others.

According to court documents, Chorny had no fixed address. Hancock said she often bounced around between shelters, after having been deemed unsafe to be living at home by social workers.

Goltz said although it's rare for homeless people with mental health issues to be violent, many are falling through the cracks and struggling to get support. 

"I can attest to trying to help some of my clients who are dealing with delusions, psychosis — really poor mental health — and not being able to get them the help they need," he said.

Dealing with housing insecurity doesn't help either, he said.

"I'm really encouraged that over the years that we have been more willing to talk about mental health, but now it needs to go from just being willing to talk … to really [pushing] our government to build the facilities that are necessary right now," said Goltz.

He said some of his clients who have voluntarily tried to be admitted to the Abbie J. Lane Memorial Building, which provides mental health and addictions services at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, have had trouble getting beds in the past.

"There's some people who are acutely in distress, and they need the proper medical attention, you know, in the right facility, with the right nurses and doctors to really address their mental illness so they can be safe themselves … and they can have a productive life," said Goltz.

Not everyone in mental distress wants care, Goltz acknowledged. But he said it's worth looking at programs being developed elsewhere that may provide compassionate care for those in crisis. 

"I'm not a big fan of people having their freedoms taken away. But I also see some of my clients who are in mental distress, and I wouldn't say they have freedom," he said.