Oct. 26, 2014
Montreal Gazette – Aaron Derfel
Radicalization and mental health: Looking for answers
Mental health experts in Montreal are attempting to define the connections between the home-grown radicals and violence such as last week brought. Dr. Paul-André Lafleur, a psychiatrist with the Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal, is suggesting acute paranoia, identity crisis and possible psychosis and that this is a new development for Canada. Dr. Hubert Van Gijseghem suggests that there may also be schizophrenia. http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/radicalization-and-mental-health-looking-for-answers Related article: Calgary Sun – Kevin Martin Here’s why Section 16 of the Criminal Code is a legitimate defence for the mentally ill http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/10/24/heres-why-section-16-of-the-criminal-code-is-a-legitimate-defence-for-the-mentally-ill
Evidence in Action (CMHA)
That’s a WRAP: Student peers help each other stay well at McMaster
WRAP stands for Wellness Recovery Action Plan and is one of the tools that Ph.d candidate Alise deBie help found after she herself came out as ‘a crazy person.’ The WRAP is an evidence-based, manualized group intervention for adults with mental illness. “WRAP is rooted in the key concepts of hope, personal responsibility, education, self-advocacy, and giving and getting support.” http://eenet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Evidence-in-Action-WRAP.pdf
Colorado Public Radio – Patrick Fort
Immigrant detainees in Colorado suing prison company over labor practices
A class action lawsuit brought by inmates and former inmates of the GEO Immigration detention facility at Aurora, Colorado, is claiming that detainees are told by the administration that it is cheap work for pittance or solitary confinement. GEO, which operates 52 such facilities, says it’s just federal government policy. http://www.cpr.org/news/story/immigrant-detainees-colorado-suing-prison-company-over-labor-practices#sthash.S7foZNUa.dpuf Related article: Capital News (Albany, NY) – Jessica Bakeman Feds: Shackles only used on immigrant children in ‘extraordinary circumstances’ http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/10/8554981/feds-shackles-only-used-immigrant-children-extraordinary-circumstance
The Leveller (Can) – Leslie Muñoz
Cruelty and Criminalization in Canada’s Migrant Detention System: Migrant justice organizers say, “Fight for the rights of all”
Nobody knows how long Joseph Charles Dunn Young was locked up in the maximum security prison in Thorold, ON. He died in custody and Is suspected, without confirmation, of having committed suicide once a determination hearing said he was to remain locked up – indefinitely. Young was in max provincial prison apparently because the three CBSA detention centres were filled. Indefinite detention – custody without conviction but because there is no possibility of deportation – is allowable under Canadian immigration law but prohibited by the UNHCR. http://www.leveller.ca/2014/10/migrant-detention Related article: Filipino Reporter – NYC Law Bars Deporting the Undocumented http://www.filipinoreporter.us/home/immigration/3232-nyc-law-bars-deporting-the-undocumented.html
Huffington Post (US) – April Rinne
3 Lessons on Financial Inclusion and the Sharing Economy
Income inequality and poverty are major concerns. Rinne offers the lens of three activities to help resolve some long standing problems, all predicated around the practice of micro-financing and micro-entrepreneurial activities. To make micro-financing work, she says we need three services/ skills: financial tracking, saving and investment; financial literacy tools; and simple credit card access. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/april-rinne/three-lessons-on-financia_b_6044312.html?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=Business
Orange County Register (California) – Deepa Bharath
Forgiving a killer after the Rwandan Genocide
The beginning of a series on RJ and forgiveness, the first describes a meeting between a man who murdered the family of Immaculee Ilibagiza, only 24 when she entered the prison in Kibuye province, Rwanda in 1994 to meet the man who deprived her of her entire family. IIibagiza spent 91 days hiding in the washroom of a Protestant clergyman’s house to avoid detection by the Hutu militia. Later, she says: “I was pushed into forgiveness, because hatred is a sickness. The more you hate, the more it grows and the more it hurts you.” http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ilibagiza-639692-bathroom-pastor.html (NB a 3 page article – click ahead at the bottom of each page)
News.nom.co (US)
Pre-enlistment mental disorders and suicidality among new US Army soldiers
A new US Army study, from STAARS, is suggesting that the recruiting of military personnel needs to recognize that the population joining the US military has at least as much mental illness as the general population. A second study suggests that suicidal thoughts are also as common in recruits as among the general population, but the rates are higher after some time in the military. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/hms-pmd102314.php US Army STAARS Reports: http://www.armystarrs.org/media_room