First, I'd like to address the issue of the employers. This is a very difficult area. All of our clients have some type of criminal record because of coming out of homelessness and also because of mental health issues. I'd like to give you an example because I don't think we get the full picture unless we have examples.
There is one gentleman in our group. His name is Daniel. When he was 23 years old, he was walking down the street after a fresh snowfall. He picked up some snow, made a snowball, and aimed for a sign. He missed the sign and hit somebody on the back of the head. The gentleman turned around, and guess what: he was a police officer. Daniel was imprisoned for assaulting a police officer.
No one took in the idea that he had mental health issues; he was just committed. He did eight months for assaulting a police officer. When he came out he had a record. He went through our program. Every time he went to get employment he was barred because he had a police record. He didn't rob a bank. He didn't commit a murder. He did nothing like that. He was simply a young man having fun in the snow.
Is there some way we could educate employers? I don't know how this could be done. I have no idea what it would take. Even to be able to have those minor charges dropped and have a clean record would really assist him.
Without having any money, how do you pay to have that removed? It costs a lot of money right now to have a clearance done. This is one thing I think the government could look at: ways and means of helping people with mental illness, especially for such minor things as throwing a snowball and accidentally hitting a police officer. It wasn't intentional; he didn't mean to do that. That is one area I think we could address.
The other area is I think there has to be an awareness made for people with mental health issues. There was a huge committee across this country about mental illness, but not enough is known about it. Many people are afraid of it. Somehow an advertisement campaign or something to this effect would really help people with mental illness.
Thank you.