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Blogs by Patrick Joesph Schnerch
Mental illness, addiction and homelessness (Victoria, BC)
5/15/2009 4:44:51 PM
My name is Patrick Schnerch. I have written a book, “City of Gardens: The Other Side of the Fence.” It is the first installment of a seven book series, The City of Gardens Collection.” The series is about how mental illness, addiction and homelessness have affected Victoria, BC. It also documents the successes and challenges the city is facing implementing its plan to house and support 1,550 homeless people in five years. The series is unique for it is based from the viewpoint of our most vulnerable. It is not Pulitzer Prize material, it was not written by a scholar and not even a high school graduate. It was an will remain as a self-published publication, funded by me with the intentions of providing awareness about these conditions in hopes of eliminating stigma, discrimination and unwarranted fears of my friends on the street. I lived my entire adult life with bipolar depression, 25 years of alcoholism and unemployed for the last 20 years. I went around the block a few times where I became literate about social services, politics and the medical system. After conquering my demons, I decided to give a voice to my brothers and sisters on the street. They have been neglected, ignored and silenced in the past. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first Canadian book and series of its kind that that represents the street people. I do not cater to institutions, community leaders or politicians. My loyalty is to the people on the streets. I believe that the country needs to look a homeless person in the eyes, listen and open their heart to see the real truth. This street level publication is a must read for mainstream society. The streets Victoria s are deteriorating at a rapid rate. It is only a matter of time before it is too late to stop it. We need the cooperation and of all three levels of government, services providers and the people. I don’t have an office to protect or be overshadowed by political correctness and protocol. I do what the upper echelon can’t do and that is bark and growl. The only way to get a message across is to go to the heart. I attack emotions to provoke thought about mental illness, addiction and homelessness. I have no concern if I become public enemy number one as long as I and my friends break the silence. The message is far too important to be ignored and the urgency is critical. Not only will this series benefit Victoria, but every major city in Canada. Cities from across the nation can have access to a written document as Victoria leads the charge against homelessness. Victoria can lead by example for other cities to adapt similar plans. I believe that the medical, judicial, political and educational systems must listen to the people who are affected the most by their decisions. Real people are dying on our streets every week and our hearts have turned to stone. Approximately five homeless people die on the streets of Victoria every month from disease, exposure or overdose. This is only a small city; the numbers are much higher in places like Vancouver. Politicians and their offices should take notice of our street people even though they can’t vote. There is nothing more precious than a human life. We depend on our governments to lead us, not to ignore us. This book series goes to the streets itself and looks at reality in the eyes. Inner torment, loneliness and disparity are what I see. How can a city as rich a Victoria allow this happen to our friends and neighbours on the streets? The City of Victoria is working very hard to change things around, but is losing ground due to the lack of support and cooperation from governments and the public at large. I noticed this major obstacle during my research and decided that the book series would compliment the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness Society and draw the attention from society to support and participate in saving their own city. This book series is not about money. All 1st year profits from each book in the series will be donated to the Victoria Human Exchange Society (www.humanx.org) to aid them in their fight against homelessness. Not only do I want to provide awareness, I want to use these books as a platform to support a permanent solution. Education about these conditions is essential to the future Victoria. It is time for your office to take responsibility and act accordingly. I can handle being brushed off as a loony tune, but I will not stand by and watch my friends die on the street. It’s a simple choice to jeopardize the welfare of one for the lives of hundreds. The government should also feel the same way if they actually feel at all. Ignoring the loss of a human life is not worth another term in office. I personally could not accept this fact and sleep at night. It has a severe impact on me when one of my homeless friends dies on the streets. As it is now, there are hundreds who have already perished and many more in our near future until we take an aggressive stance against these conditions. Our children are our future. If Victoria is going to do anything at all, they must listen to the people including our most vulnerable.
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More Blogs by Patrick Joesph Schnerch
• Book Rights for Sale - Wednesday, October 27, 2010
• Book Review / The Peaceful Warrior - Wednesday, September 22, 2010
• Book review / City of Gardens: The Other Side of the Fence - Tuesday, September 21, 2010
• Now you know - Sunday, September 19, 2010
• Facts that contribute to social degeneration - Monday, September 06, 2010
• Not enough - Monday, September 06, 2010
• Book Network - Saturday, September 04, 2010
• The Other Side of the Fence - Tuesday, December 22, 2009
• City of Gardens: Book review - Thursday, November 19, 2009
• City of Gardens: Victoria's Dirty Little Secret - Wednesday, November 18, 2009
• Link Exchange - Wednesday, November 04, 2009
• The Invisible Society / Edit - Sunday, October 25, 2009
• The Invisible Society / Excerpt - Tuesday, October 06, 2009
• The Invisible Society / October 19, 2009 - Monday, September 28, 2009
• New book / AWSOME!!! - Sunday, September 13, 2009
• Life is Good! - Tuesday, September 01, 2009
• Forum and Chat - Monday, August 24, 2009
• I Double Dog Gone Dare You to Read This! - Friday, August 21, 2009
• The Motive Behind West Coast Literary Productions - Wednesday, July 22, 2009
• Bipolar Babe / Inspiration - Monday, July 20, 2009
• Andrea Paquette / Bipolar Babe - Saturday, July 11, 2009
• The Invisible Society Interviews - Saturday, July 11, 2009
• Bipolar Babe - Saturday, July 04, 2009
• Marketing "The City of Gardens Collection" - Saturday, June 27, 2009
• Field Work / Research / Victoria, BC - Wednesday, June 24, 2009
• The City of Gardens Collection is Making its Mark - Friday, June 12, 2009
• Business is business... - Thursday, June 11, 2009
• Mental illness / Addiction/ Homelessness/ Victoria BC - Tuesday, June 02, 2009
• Book Series Going Political - Monday, June 01, 2009
• Book Research / The Invisible Society - Friday, May 29, 2009
• Book Research - Friday, May 22, 2009
• Mental illness, addiction and homelessness (Victoria, BC) - Friday, May 15, 2009
• Social Deterioration - Monday, May 11, 2009
• Show Time - Thursday, April 30, 2009
• The Forgotton, Lost and Neglected - Wednesday, April 22, 2009
• Faith In Action - Tuesday, April 21, 2009
• 2009 - 2014 - Sunday, April 19, 2009
• Marketing City of Gardens - Thursday, April 16, 2009
• Freedom Fighters Inc. - Monday, April 06, 2009
• Let There be Light / City of Gardens - Saturday, April 04, 2009
• Allbooks Review City of Gardens - Saturday, April 04, 2009
• Human Nature - Thursday, March 26, 2009
• The City of Gardens Collection / Publicity Campaign - Monday, March 23, 2009
• Breaking the Silence - Saturday, March 21, 2009
• The Invisible Society - Victoria, BC - Monday, March 16, 2009
• City of Gardens: The Invisible Society - Wednesday, March 11, 2009
• Book Review / Melissa Levine - Saturday, March 07, 2009
• Phase II / Publicity Campain - Friday, March 06, 2009
• Book Relase Up-date - Monday, March 02, 2009
• I Believe in Love! - Thursday, February 26, 2009
• Special Request for Book From Mayor's Office - Thursday, February 26, 2009
• Book Release / VHES Fundraiser - Wednesday, February 25, 2009
• The Key to Success! - Tuesday, February 17, 2009
• City of Gardens Sparking Interest From the Media - Monday, February 16, 2009
• Victoria Human Exchange Society (VHES) - Wednesday, February 11, 2009
• Schnerch / March 1st, 2009 - Friday, February 06, 2009
• City of Gardens on the Fast Track - Saturday, January 31, 2009
• City of Gardens is Generating a Lot of Interest in Greater Victoria. - Tuesday, January 27, 2009
• All or Nothing! - Thursday, January 15, 2009
• City of Gardens / VHES / The Facts - Sunday, January 11, 2009
• January / February 500 Book Drive - Friday, January 02, 2009
• Mental illness, Addiction and Homelessness. - Monday, December 29, 2008
• Communtity Support / Local and Beyond - Tuesday, December 23, 2008
• B-POTSC 2009-2014 - Thursday, December 18, 2008
• Welcome Readers and Authors - Wednesday, December 17, 2008
• Book Series Designed for Charity - Tuesday, December 16, 2008
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