Legal Aid Ontario LAO: Mental Disability

mental disability: One of the biggest barriers to justice is a mental disability. No agency is more aware of this than Legal Aid Ontario LAO , whose clients are disproportionately impoverished, underhoused, criminalized and incarcerated. Approximately one in three have mental health problems, according to The Star. A year ago, he commissioned the development of a comprehensive mental health strategy . He recruited a young lawyer who had spent his career working with psychiatric patients to canvas Ontarians with mental disabilities, their caregivers, social service providers, housing advocates, health-care professionals, judges and lawyers to come up with a blueprint and Laws, rights and constitutional guarantees dont mean much if you re shut out of the justice system. For years, the agency has made incremental reforms; some effective, some still being tested. But John McCamus , chair of LAOs board, knew these ad hoc efforts were not enough. He had come to the inescapable conclusion that the traditional legal model simply didnt work for people with mental disorders. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.