So often we hear the phrase “vicious circle” to describe a relationship between two things that intensify one another. In the context of poverty and mental illness, there relationship is exactly that. Poverty can be a significant risk factor for poor mental health and conversely people with mental illness often live in chronic poverty (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2007). This flaring relationship can especially be seen since recently the word is starting to incapsulate not just a lack of basic necessities, but extending to the realm of meaningful employment, affordable housing, health and well being, social networks, and basic human rights (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2007). This broader scope of the word makes the connection of mental illness to poverty even more visible.
A publicly known mental illness has a trickling down affect that starts with discrimination and obvious held stigmatizations. Generalizations of what a person is like with a mental illness can often times prevent someone from attaining adequate education and employment (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2007). Since an educational foundation is unreachable, a person is trapped in a low income job with no means of escaping it. Seeing this pattern of one thing effecting the next, in this case education effecting income, it is obvious that disclosing a mental illness is a major factor of drifting into poverty. Other factors that contribute to this visible relationship is a lack of access to community services and support, lack of sufficient health care and mental health services, and affordable housing (Whalen, 2006). The combined effects of all of these factors leads to furthering alienation to a person who already feels this isolation.
By looking at the hand in hand relationship between poverty and mental illness, it can be inferred that by minimizing poverty, mental illness will also be reduced. Because social democrats believe in, “equality of condition, or at least the serious effort to reduce major inequalities of wealth, income, social status, and political influence” I believe that this is the best approach in minimizing mental illness (Mullaly, 2007, p.115). Its focus on reducing the ever growing gap between the rich and poor would than in turn indirectly reduce the number of people suffering with a mental illness.
Their view on the welfare system is another important reason as to why this ideology would benefit those living in poverty and so help those suffering from a mental illness. Social democrats believe in the welfare system. They feel that it is a central social value and because of that fact, those in poverty, are more able to seek out resources when they are in dire need for them (Mullaly, 2007, p.128). Along with this, because the welfare system is a core value to the social democrats, those in poverty are able to seek these resources with far less fear of how others will respond.
“All humans need other humans to achieve humanity” is another social democratic idea that strengthens my belief (Mullaly, 2007, p. 121). This text, when associated with mental illness, reflects the need for a communal effort in the prevention and treatment of a mental disorder. The education of the general public is needed to abolish the discrimination towards those with a mental illness and the false conceptions of what “they” are like. Other social democratic policies that have communal efforts in place are those such as employment support or workplace accommodations that aid mentally ill persons to help keep their jobs (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2007). Supported education programs to help adult learners is another social democratic approach that enables a worker to achieve their educational goals (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2007). Having the basic necessities, like an adequate income and stable employment, are vital to the recovery of a person with a mental illness (Whalen, 2006). Furthermore, by providing these types of services, it would allow workers to earn higher incomes, ease the pressure of dropping below the poverty line, and in turn decrease the susceptibility of suffering from a mental illness.
All in all social democratic ideologies is the perfect fit in fighting the incidence of mental illness in Canada. I say this because of its focus on reducing the inequalities of income and wealth, its position on the social welfare system, and its recognition that a collective effort is needed for social well being of all persons.
-Morgan Jones
References
Whalen, B. (2006). The stigma associated with mental illness. Canadian Mental Health Association. Retrieved from:
Mullaly, B. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3rd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press Canada.
Canadian Mental Health Association. (November 2007). Poverty and Mental Illness. Retrieved from: http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/backgrounders.asp
