Doug Todd: Would my dad have survived today’s mental-health system? Probably not

My father, a Second World War veteran who developed schizophrenia, went into Riverview Mental Hospital in 1953. He remained there about two decades, interspersed with often-difficult stays at his parents’ home.

Riverview Hospital managed to keep my dad, Harold Todd, “safe.” But it also left him institutionalized and passive. In the early 1970s, he was transferred to a not-for-profit boarding house in Kitsilano, where he lived until he died in 1999 from a heart attack.

In the large, old, spartan boarding house, staff watched out for Harold, at least a bit. His bedroom was tidy. To most, he looked odd and withdrawn. Yet he dressed well, walked city sidewalks and spent time in libraries.

He seemed to feel he had some dignity. He didn’t drink or use illicit drugs. He had a subscription to Maclean’s magazine. In his last 10 years, he became involved in an art therapy program.

Would my father have survived B.C.’s current mental-health system?