NORTH DELTA — Whenever Morgan Forry can string together enough hours at his part-time drywalling job, he takes the money and hops on a Greyhound bus with his petition in hand.
Travelling to cities and towns throughout B.C., Alberta and the Yukon, Forry has collected 2,800 signatures since last March which he hopes will compel the federal government to create a ministry for people with disabilities and mental health issues.
Diagnosed at 12 with bipolar disorder, today the 43-year-old has his good days and his bad days when he needs to "isolate" and can't go to his job.
"When I'm down and out and can't work, (my boss) understands that," says Forry, who is currently homeless and couchsurfing among friends.
Forry says the problem is a lack of services for people with a mental illness, particularly in after-hour care when psychiatrists and clinics aren't open.
"I'm going to the federal government because none of the provincial governments are taking care of the task at hand," he said.
With nowhere to go after-hours or on weekends, Forry says the hospital emergency room intakes strain resources in health care.
And often when mentally ill people have nowhere to go, they try to self-medicate with illegal narcotics, adds Forry, who speaks from personal experience. Although he's clean and sober now, he says the original problem of a lack of services has not been resolved.
"I know a lot of friends right now that have got off the streets and are completely clean of the addictions and everything like
that. They have mental health issues but they have nothing to go to."
Judy Gray, executive director for the Delta branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), says the municipality is lacking in services for both homeless and people with mental illness.
"We have a hospital that does not have psychiatric beds or services so people have to be transferred to Surrey Memorial Hospital," she says, adding police officers are then spending time in Surrey which leaves the force shorthanded in Delta.
Delta Police Chief Jim Cessford has spoken publicly many times about the need for more mental health funding because his officers are often left facing the consequences. Between 2010 and 2012,
Delta Police attended 138 suicide attempts and, of those, all but one had prior contact with officers.
Compounding the problem, any homeless outreach is handled by agencies in White Rock or Surrey because of a lack of shelters in Delta, says Gray.
"Certainly there's gaps in services and there's a lot of people in different nonprofits trying to support the gaps and trying to look at resolutions and work in conjunction with the ministries and health regions to improve the services," she adds.
The CMHA is working with local branches throughout the province to bring forward questions surrounding supportive housing when the BC Chamber of Commerce holds its annual cabinet
ministers breakfast series in May.
Newton-North Delta MP Jinny Sims met Forry last November during a town hall meeting in Strawberry Hill on mental health and suicide. Sims says people from all different ethnicities and backgrounds attended the meeting, some driving from as far away as Mission.
"I don't think there was a dry eye in that house as people talked about the lack of services and support for those suffering from mental health issues," she recalls.
Sims says she's committed to helping Forry submit his petition to parliament in the coming weeks, but adds what's really needed is a national action plan with a focus on getting to services first.
"If we fine tune the ministries that we have and get them to focus on the services that we have then I'm OK with that. For me it's more about providing services and this is a major issue that all levels of government need to work on together."
Sims says it shouldn't be difficult to convince those politicians of the need to cooperate, adding research shows mental health issues are on the rise and many social problems faced by communities relate back to a deficit in services.
"It would be a lot more economically sound and socially progressive to provide them with the services to address the mental health issue."
Forry says his goal is to visit every province in the country to spread his message but doesn't have the money and struggles with homelessness.
"The hardest thing is that people who are mentally ill who are homeless can't get support," he says.
By providing a ministry dedicated to the mentally ill and providing after hour services and support, Forry says ultimately everybody will see the benefit.
"They'll save taxpayer money, they'll clear up those hospital beds and not just that but we'll have healthier communities throughout our country."