Going Home
Look within-and be still. Free from Fear and Attachment. Know the sweet joy of the way ... (Buddha ).
I have been thinking about the idea of going home a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We all are asked or told by our governments to stay home. Our life and possibly the lives of those more vulnerable than us may depend on it.We are physically home but have we truly arrived at our spiritual home? . Do we feel safe , serene, peaceful and content ? Calls to crisis centres reached all time highs over the Easter weekend.Small businesses are failing. Rates of domestic violence are increasing. we are drinking and drugging more then ever and the elderly and physically and intellectually disabled are being abandoned by the care -providers, , in some instances , to die.
Thich Nhat Hanh ( Thay ) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, ,a peace activist, author , mindfulness teacher and champion of engaged Buddhism He advocates for Social Justice, Peace and the protection of the environment .It has been said that his greatest Teaching has been his courageous life. Born in Hue, Vietnam in 1926, his 1966 presentation of a peace proposal in Washington asking Americans to stop the bombing of North Vietnam, and to offer the nation reconstructive aid,did not sit well with the South Vietnamese government. His proposal resulted in his being exiled from Vietnam by his government from 1966 to 2004. He sought asylum in France and created a new home, calling it Plum Village. Here mindfulness was integrated into all daily activities.This became his spiritual sanctuary and surrogate home, which he came to share with so many. He returned to Vietnam in 2007. Upon returning to his beloved homeland, he focused on assisting the citizens of his country to heal from the wounds of the war .He wrote ,"if we don't transform the suffering and wounds now,they will be transmitted to the next generation".He suffered a serious stroke in 2014, limiting his capacity to resume his public role. His Teachings continue . In The World We Have, he wrote;" Our life has to be our message" .He has since returned home to Vietnam . His courageous life continues through his Teachings. He instructs that our true home is in the here and now. By going home to your breath in meditation,you touch your true home.He teaches that within each of us is a wounded child. Frightened of the suffering of this child ,we stuff our feelings and painful memories into our deep unconscious. Running away , numbing ourselves with drugs , alcohol, sex or work,prolongs our suffering. If our suffering has been repeated, we may experience the symptoms of a Complex Traumatic Stress Disorder; panic attacks, flashbacks, hypervigilance, nightmares, an incapacity to trust,disturbed interpersonal relationships and a foreshortened version of the future. If the abuse we have experienced is repeated, the cumulative effect can be that we come to the acceptance of the version of who we are held to be by the perpetrators of our abuse.We may come to believe that we are helpless,worthless and unloveable. .We are filled with shame , believing cognitive distortions tying us to a sense that there is nowhere to call home, nowhere to be safe, that we , of all people, are unworthy of this. The energy of mindfulness accessed through meditation,returns us home, to the awakened wisdom within us.We heal as we hold the wounded child.We come to see the roots of our suffering and with that understanding,our suffering lessens and loving-kindness and compassion grow.We are invited to embrace our own suffering.Understanding the origins of our despair, we learn to embrace our inherent goodness and our suffering becomes the mother of our compassion and empathy, first given to ourselves and then to others.As his Holiness The Dali Lama has said "If you want to be happy, be compassionate with yourself. If you want to be happy , be compassionate with others".
We are finally then home.
In Kenora, town of 18,000, in Northwestern Ontario,for many of the displaced Ojibway population, there is no home, either physically or spiritually. The crystal methamphetamine epidemic that has terrorized the town over the past several years,has driven citizens to extreme positions regarding potential solutions.This drug preys on young adults , apprehended at birth or after experiencing extreme neglect in their family homes. Often born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) and mercury-contaminated nervous systems,multiple generations have been displaced to residential schools , to unfamiliar cultures and families during the Sixties Scoop and to privately-run , for profit, group home in Southern Ontario more recently.Their attachment disorders beget mistrust and anxiety.This is then compounded by physical , emotional and sexual abuse .Irritability , refusal to attend school and public places and oppositional behavior, the markers of underlying Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorders , are not well recognized by care -providers . Childhood diagnoses of Oppositional defiant disorder, Intermittent Explosive disorder and Conduct disorder create misunderstanding and nihilistic attitudes among poorly trained front line staff and foster parents.These labels become self-fulfilling prophecies , as antisocial behavior ensues. With little other choice , lost and disconnected adolescents begin to self-medicate. First the burning taste of stolen alcohol, then the temporary relief from anxiety offered by marijuana.Eventually,the acceptance of the offer of a narcotic or stimulant by bullying peers, some recruiting for Indigenous gangs involved in street drug trafficking.Smoking fentanyl for the first time allows a false sense of coming home, of having" God reaching into your chest and caressing your heart, as no one has ever done before" Crime , including involvement in the sex trade and inevitably withdrawal from school and incarceration follows.
The Kenora Jail , as described by the Ontario Rights Commissioner, during her 2019 visit, is not a home.Segregation cells , unfortunate sometimes used to protect others from violent behaviors symptomatic of diagnosed PTSD, drug induced psychotic disorders and Bipolar, Disorders, are not homes. Renu Mandhane, the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, visited Kenora and the Kenora jail in 2017..She had just prior to this visit,publicly exposed the fact that an Indigenous man from the Lac Seul First Nation near Kenora, had spent 1500 consecutive days in segregation while incarcerated in Thunder Bay, waiting trail for second degree murder.She spoke to inmates and front line staff, observing that English was not the first language for a number of the inmates she spoke to ,individuals displaced from their home communities and culture, on reservations north of Kenora. She noted that "prisoners are held in inhumane conditions with gross overcrowding,inadequate physical and mental healthcare and addictions treatment and no meaningful access to programming or rehabilitation" ( 2017 report to the standing committee on Finance and Economic Affairs) .She expressed the belief that 90% of the inmates in the Kenora jail were Indigenous and that 100% of these individuals had a mental illness, cognitive impairment or addictions. (Jody Porter, CBC News,Feb.21, 2017)
In Sept of 2019, The Ontario Human Rights Commission completed a brief entitled Report and Recommendations on Homelessness in Kenora. They noted that there had been positive initiatives attempted to address issues associated with being homeless. They decried however, "the lack of success of these initiatives hindered by a lack of effective communication between government agencies and Indigenous lead organizations that provide service on the ground as well as systemic issues related to housing and social services". They felt that "perhaps most importantly, there needs to be a cultural shift in terms of how leaders and service providers understand and meet the needs of marginalized and homeless people who call Kenora HOME".
No One Knows His Name
No one knows his name - a man who lives on the streets and walks around in rags .Once I saw that man in a dream.He and God were constructing a extraordinary temple
(St.Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
A group of courageous individuals,in Keewatin Ontario, just down the road from main street Kenora, have redesigned a ice rink to host the homeless and care for those who are COVID-19 positive. A petition was developed in opposition to this inspired initiative , citing the believe that this project would jeopardize the safety of local citizens.This fear-based contention is not supported by science . Dr Theresa Lam , Canada's Chief Medical officer of health, has recognized the increased risk of developing COVID-19, amongst the homeless. In Vancouver's' downtown Eastside a third of the 2233 residents who sleep on the streets are addicted to narcotics or crystal methamphetamine .Street drug prices are sky-rocketing.Those with untreated anxiety , mood and psychotic disorders are relapsing. Medical care has been much harder to access.12 step programs are closed and treatment centers are not admitting.There is no reason to assume anything is different in Northwestern Ontario.
The BC provincial government has endorsed new guidelines regarding the prescription of controlled substances during the pandemic.The publication Risk Mitigation in the Context of Dual Public Health Emergencies (BC Center on Substance Use ,March 2020,www.bccsu.ca/covid-19) calls for extraordinary measures, including the utilization of novel harm -reduction based substitution strategies to reduce overdoses and promote social distancing, thereby reducing the community spread of COVID-19. These measures, including the use of medical marijuana and hydrophone to treat narcotic addiction and withdrawal and stimulants substitution strategies ( Dexedrine XR and Adderall) in the context of a crystal methamphetamine addiction are imminently transferable to humanely treat substance misuse amongst homeless population anywhere , including Kenora .Safe consumption sites in Vancouver have lowered narcotic overdose death rates and and likely the spread of Hepatitis C and HIV, without increasing crime rates in the areas they are situated. This is a critical component of a harm reduction strategy continuum currently not available in Kenora and many other small towns in Ontario.The founders and volunteers of this shelter and health care-providing initiative in Keewatin , some of whom belong to a internet group called Compassion Kenora,are creating a temporary home for the towns most vulnerable citizens, many of whom are already compromised
Teese nobel individuals recognize that "Vunerable we are , like an infant. We need each others care, or we will suffer. They have questioned , as didSt, Francis of Assissi ; "Can true humility and compassion exist in our words and eyes unless we know we too are capable of any act?' They stand united , acknowledging that "Hope is a risk that must be run" . Henry David Thoreau would let then know that "if you have built castles in the air, your work need not be loss: that is where they should be.Now put the foundations under them".
Amidst a national crisis of epic proportions, we now, right now, have an opportunity to build foundations, beginning with an acknowledgment of the misconceptions, incorrect assumptions and racial and cultural stereotypes we all hold , some more than others , that interfere with our capacity to celebrate our shared humanness, our interconnectedness.Our capacity to care compassionately for others, must follow our willingness to learn to offer ourselves complete and radical acceptance.From this beginning, community-partnerships between Indigenous-lead and non Indigenous -lead community health and socials service agencies must be enhanced with mutual respect, an acknowledgment of commons goals and much improved communication.It is possible to respect both Indigenous world views and healing practices and western medicine approaches in the development of individualized recovery and relapse prevention programs for addictions and mental health diagnoses.
The Dual Diagnosis Program of the Kenora Association for Community Living has spear -headed this initiative in Kenora. The Principles of harm reduction have been adapted to support substance- using individuals who mistrust others to survive.We meet people where they are,initially, helping them to stay alive literally in the face of homelessness and extreme poverty..We recognize that 12 step abstinence -based programs are not for everyone.We value back to the land programming , if available.We appreciate the work of the Northwestern Ontario Health Unit in providing primary health care and and a needle exchange to the citizens with whom we share our streets. We absolutely must remain trauma -informed .We can not shy away from the complexity of the tasks when we meet a 20 year old Ojibway young man with FASD, Complex PTSD , mercury -poisoning and poly-substance use as he is about to leave the Kenora jail for the third time ,released with no prescription or family physician, often with no income nor home and a mistrust of Indigenous and western culture . .We recognize the need to understand the neuroscience of FASD and the implications of this on trauma processing and use of substances.There is little literature available here, so we stay present and remain non-judgemental , and honestly offer innovative therapies not well -tested.There may be no double -blind placebo-controlled trial to guide us , but we know suffering and ultimately death may otherwise be inevitable.We practice safe distancing but also hold space, walking alongside a client without judgment bearing witness to suffering, listening with intent while we remain present.We partner with the Kenora CMHA and the Kenora Chiefs Advisory therapists in addressing trauma , as well as the community-focused addiction and mental health therapists at the Lake of the Woods Hospital.We support alternatives to hospitalization during crises, particularly now during COVID-19.Safe bed protocals have been developed. We do our best to support locum psychiatrists , some of whom may have little experience with homeless and Indigenous populations, as they manage a schedule one psychiatric ward in the local hospital that no longer has a full time , locally living psychiatrist attached to it.
We are acutely aware of the risk of being vicaroiusly traumatised and de-brief and use humour regularly .We do not try to change the world all at once.We set reasonable, perhaps humble goals regarding client success but celebrate success with gusto when it occurs.We are blessed by the love of family, our homes that become our safe sanctuaries.When we go home , we go home to ourselves.We sit with our negative and positives emotions .We are blessed to be at home at the end of the day.
Peace, Dr Bob King MD FRCPC