Mental illness, visa woes stir unrest
REPEATED attempts to maintain peace at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre are failing because many of the men held there are seriously mentally ill and others are frustrated that they can neither get a visa nor be freed, according to emails from asylum-seekers being held there.
Late on Tuesday night, the Australian Federal Police fired tear gas and bean bag bullets inside the Christmas Island centre.
The AFP yesterday revealed its officers had fired rubber bullets and teargas at Christmas Island detainees on five occasions this year.
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The first three occasions were during a week of rioting and mass escapes that culminated in devastating fires, charges against 18 asylum-seekers and three complaints that the AFP had used inappropriate force.
Riot police were called back to the centre on June 10 and again fired tear gas and beanbag bullets, an AFP spokesman said.
In the latest unrest, which came after days of rooftop protests, about 50 men escaped their compounds and marched through the centre setting bins on fire.
Non-compliance and self-harm incidents have escalated. The visits room is now a “watch” area for detainees who have tried to harm or kill themselves.
Detainee Hotak Sahardost, who arrived by boat 14 months ago, said mental illness was rife there. “Unfortunately, many clients (detainees) after stay long time at here get many, many mentality health (problems) . . .
If I died in this detention, I am sure DIAC (the Department of Immigration and Citizenship) make for me some document tell(ing) anyone that I am crazy.”
The Australian has been told one detainee charged over the March riots was flown to a mainland mental hospital last month. He spent several days in psychiatric care at Graylands Hospital in Perth.
The Immigration Department’s security contractor Serco is trying to halt unrest on the island by converting the centre’s seldom used isolation cells – called Red Block – into a full-time behaviour management unit.
Detainees hate Red Block and resist going – one smashed a TV earlier this week after being told that is where he would be moved, The Australian has been told.
Mr Faridi said the situation was unbearable for stateless detainees like him who had been rejected.
“I accept the negative answer and I went for a request to go back to Iran, but the agent of immigration told me, ‘We cannot do that and send you to Iran because you are stateless and have not any document to able send you to Iran’,” he said. “I want to be free.”
Time to tee it up for mental health
Russ Courtnall is no stranger to pressure, having played in the National Hockey League.
But his life has become a whirlwind of activity recently in the countdown to the third Courtnall Celebrity Classic fundraiser for mental health. The amount of time Russ and his brothers Geoff and Bruce have spent on the phone organizing the event is a sign the fundraiser is near and dear to their hearts.
“It’s because it’s so personal with us, because of what happened to us,” Russ said from his home in L.A. “It’s not just a golf tournament and it’s just not a dinner, it’s more than that. With our dad committing suicide (in 1978), and being so young – I was 13 – unfortunately for us, it’s a big part of our lives, losing our father.”
Previous Classics in 2003 and 2004 combined to raise $2 million to establish the Royal Jubilee Hospital’s Archie Courtnall Centre – named for their father – where people suffering mental-health issues can receive emergency psychiatric care. Since it opened, 20,000 people have been cared for.
“I feel so good about it,” Russ said. “And some (who have received care there) are my friends, and some involved in the first two (fundraisers) have had family members go through it.”
This time around, Russ and Geoff, both former NHLers, and Bruce are looking to contribute to the Victoria Hospital Foundation, which has a goal of raising $4 million to pay for mental-health-care equipment and programs at the new RJH Patient Care Centre. It’s part of the foundation’s larger campaign to generate $25 million in support of the new centre.
Thanks to the brothers’ passion and round-the-clock dedication, around 2,000 people will be in attendance at several events this week, including a gala dinner Friday night (July 22) and a golf tournament Saturday.
Among the dozens of celebrities scheduled to attend include current NHLers Ryan O’Byrne of Victoria (Colorado Avalanche), Central Saanich’s Jamie Benn (Dallas Stars), Vancouver Canucks centre Manny Malhotra, L.A. Kings defenceman Willie Mitchell, and Ron MacLean, co-host of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.
Actors coming include Candace Cameron Bure from Full House and Make It Or Break It, X-Men: First Class actor Matthew Craven, Bold and the Beautiful TV star Jennifer Finnigan, Gena Lee Nolin from Baywatch and The Price is Right, and film actor Deborah Kara Unger from Silent Hill, Thirteen and Crash.
It’s too soon to tell if and when the brothers will hold another Courtnall Celebrity Classic. But they recognize how great the need is for mental health care, which fuels them to continue their efforts. “You help people and it’s so rewarding,” said Russ. “It’s great.”
Mental-health problems require more than Band-Aid approach
I
magine you’re at the office and your co-worker gets a paper cut, a really nasty one. How long until he or she gets a bandage out of a first-aid kit and stops the bleeding? Not too long. Now image you’re at the office and your co-worker is becoming more and more depressed. How long until he or she receives first aid?
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One in four people in the United States is affected by mental illness in any given year. Whether it is us, our family members, neighbors or co-workers, mental illness is prevalent. I’d even go so far to say that mental illness is nearly as common as a paper cut. Most of us will have the experience.
So how long do you think it takes people to get initial help for mental illness? Statistics show the average time between the onset of symptoms and engagement in treatment is 10 years. Compare that to the time it takes to treat the paper cut. It takes about a minute or two to find a small adhesive bandage and about another minute (depending on skill level) to apply the bandage.
So what’s with the 10 years? I think that with the paper cut, most of us are familiar enough with first aid to effectively expedite the process for ourselves or someone who needs help. The process is pretty easy to remember: apply sticky-side down, and you’re done. Historically, applying first aid for mental illness has been a far less common skill set.
The good news is that we’ve recently made huge gains in understanding how to assist people experiencing symptoms of mental illness. Perhaps, the most effective of these has been the emergence of Mental Health First Aid in the United States.
MHFA training provides instruction about skills to provide initial help to people experiencing mental-health problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis and substance-use disorders. The training is appropriate for community members; you do not need to be a trained behavioral-health professional to apply MHFA.
During the last two years, we’ve trained hundreds of people in the Four Corners including teachers, police officers, government officials, nonprofit employees, faith-based professionals, firefighters and folks who just wanted to learn these skills. As a certified MHFA trainer, I believe MHFA is shortening the 10-year average down to a few hours and is improving the likelihood of recovery for the people in our lives.
We’re in the process of planning our MHFA training schedule for the fall and winter, so please contact me if you’re interested in signing up for or hosting MHFA training for your organization or business.
