The relationship between schizophrenia and nicotine could actually help end homelessness

“Several hundred workers were brutally murdered with machetes and machine gun fire around the South African gold mine owned by Leif Gregersen.” I had never been to South Africa, barely knew anything about it, but here the television was telling me I was some kind of despot-capitalist there. I wanted to cover my ears and close my eyes, but I knew if I could just last a few more minutes I would be okay. It was 6:55 a.m. and I was sitting in the smoking room in the secure ward in Ten Building of Alberta Hospital, watching the early news. It wasn’t like the TV was talking about me, it was far too real to say it was like something. The newscaster, with a grim look on his face and a monotone voice, was talking directly at me. Seven o'clock finally hit and I went to the nursing station for a cigarette. The nurse on duty lit it for me and I took a long drag. I knew the smoke was killing me but it did one thing: it kept my voices and hallucinations at bay. By my third cigarette, the news became just the news. And it wasn’t just me, there are hard scientific facts to back up the mental respite I got from smoking. The website brainfacts.org states that nicotine appears to help normalize some of the cognitive and sensory deficits that people with schizophrenia experience. It is estimated that 70-80 per cent of people with schizophrenia in Canada smoke, compared to 20-30 per cent of the general population. I smoked so heavily many friends joked that I was putting nails in my coffin, but after I was stabilized on medication I was able to quit. Now, 18 years later, I live with the pain and the damage from my years of smoking cigarettes. People with schizophrenia make up a significant portion of another high-risk group: they are often among the homeless population. The Mental Health Commission of Canada reported that between 35 and 50 per cent of homeless people in Canada suffer from schizophrenia. A 2016 report from British Columbia found that the life expectancy of people experiencing homelessness is roughly half that of the general population. This becomes a national crisis when one considers roughly 35,000 people in Canada are homeless on any given night, and 235,000 people in Canada are homeless at some point in any given year. It's unfathomable to consider as many as 80,000 to 117,500 of these people suffer from schizophrenia, a treatable, manageable condition. Studies indicate that when people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia are homeless, it costs society as much as $161,000 per year, when one factors in medical fees, hospital visits, police resources, jail time, and shelter costs. A study by Homes First, a housing agency in Toronto, estimates it costs just $51 per day per person to sleep in one of their social housing units, and a CAMH housing program costs just $67 per day for a person with moderate needs. This is an annual cost of $18,000 to $24,000, a considerable savings. Ahmed Hussen, minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, announces support for green energy and efficiency retrofits in Ottawa on June 17, 2022. Housing is primarily a provincial matter, but the federal government still plays a role. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade The solution seems simple: Build enough housing units for people with schizophrenia with the government revenue they are largely responsible for: tobacco taxes. The federal government is set to take in $4.15-billion per year in tobacco taxes this year. The approximate cost to house people with schizophrenia would be a fraction of that revenue, at $30- to $42-million per year. The money to end homelessness for all is there, and the benefits are clear and obvious. Medicine Hat, Alta., became the first city in Canada to achieve functional zero homelessness. They took on a “housing first” policy and a data-driven system. They found that functionally ending homelessness was an investment in sound governance. Granted, it wouldn’t be fair to only house homeless people with schizophrenia. But because of the difficulty of housing people with the illness, and the incredible cognitive barriers, confusion, and stigma they face, resolving homelessness among people with schizophrenia should be a priority. There is simply no way to properly treat their illness without them having a home. Leif Gregersen is a writer, teacher and public speaker who has written and published 12 books, three of which are memoirs of his 30 years of lived experience with mental illness.

The relationship between schizophrenia and nicotine could actually help end homelessness

Build enough housing units for people with schizophrenia using the government revenue they are largely responsible for: tobacco taxes.

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The relationship between schizophrenia and nicotine could actually help end homelessness

Build enough housing units for people with schizophrenia using the government revenue they are largely responsible for: tobacco taxes.

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