loading...
By Paul Latimer
Dr. Paul Latimer
Apparently, B.C., once again, has the highest childhood poverty rate in Canada at 16 per cent.
The stats are out there to be manipulated. The government in power wants to make arguments that make us look less bad. Maybe the rates haven’t been calculated correctly. What I know from my clinical practice is that there are a lot of people who can’t feed their kids, pay their rent or find a job. The parents feel guilty, depressed, overwhelmed, desperate and sometimes angry. It is no wonder they feel they need help.
The kids are innocent; they are not in poverty through any of their own doing. They get picked on at school, feel embarrassed by their poor clothes and are unable to join in with clubs and activities due to lack of funds. It does give them motivation to grow up and leave home but sometimes that happens too soon and the cycle repeats itself.
Many of these poor families have other issues. On average the parents will have less education and will have poorer health. They are more likely to have mental health issues and to have much shorter life spans. They live in poorer accommodations, which are sometimes not in very desirable neighbourhoods, and eat poorer quality food. The rates of obesity are higher and physical fitness lower.
Our social assistance is, like most bureaucracies dehumanizing. Public health clinics and mental health centres serve a purpose but not very responsive or efficiently. Our subsidized housing is very difficult to access and there are long waiting periods. Poverty breeds mental illness, disease, criminality, unemployment and social unrest. All of these cost money to the society at large and this money comes from those who pay taxes. A more rational society would provide a guaranteed income so that the basics of life such as housing, food, health care and education could be provided with dignity to all who needed them.
The cost would be less, social cohesion stronger and health better. Many of the problems we deal with today as health care practitioners are preventable on a societal level but are very difficult one on one with no resources. These solutions require a long term vision, not budget to budget brinkmanship. It’s a pity that we are so busy putting out fires and solving secondary problems that we never get to the real issues.
Paul Latimer- psychiatrist, medical researcher, and writer has recently published a book entitled MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS. This is a compilation of articles, written with his daughter Megan, to inform the public about common psychiatric issues. For more information about Dr Latimer and his work visit HYPERLINK “http://www.okanaganclinicaltrials.com” www.okanaganclinicaltrials.com.
Paul Latimer- psychiatrist, medical researcher, and writer has recently published a book entitled MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS. This is a compilation of articles, written with his daughter Megan, to inform the public about common psychiatric issues. For more information about Dr Latimer and his work visit www.okanaganclinicaltrials.com.
