David J. Mole's Blog

COMMENTS ON A COMMUNITY CRISIS

Captured by Management

 

A few weeks back I was fortunate to hear Richard W. Leblanc, renowned York University professor and author of “The Handbook of Board Governance.” The forum was a CBC discussion pertaining to the 2018 Ontario Election and the controversy surrounding not only the partial sale of Hydro One, a lightning rod of provincial politics but, more importantly, how the organization had been “captured by management” – resulting in one failure after another (including the now infamous $25,000 pay increase to board members).  This phrase has stuck with me and inspired this post.

Working for nearly two decades in the corporate world, building and developing a number of small businesses I thought I had a very clear perspective of what “management” was all about. As an owner I was constantly looking for motivated, intelligent, and innovative “managers” willing to take on challenges and deliver on the vision set by those in leadership. I relied on this team to in turn work collaboratively with my wider myriad of frontline workers who, at the end of the day, delivered our product to customers. To me, great managers took the initiative, reported clearly, were dually responsive to employees and ownership, and holistically inspired the troops to embody everything the company stood for.  In short, middle managers, for me, were pivotal in delivering success.

Today, my opinion about middle management has changed from an “outcome” point of view. If robust management can produce a general “lifting of the ship,” even in troubled waters, what results when there is an acrid core, a fatalistic or non-engaged troupe unwilling to listen, lead, or even take question? My own transformation of opinion has come in large part due to a change of perspective – from the corporate world to that of the social service / social work world. Working in the world of crisis, as a frontline emergency shelter worker, I now realize how critical good management is (open, responsive, non-punitive) for clients, and, more importantly, how toxic bad managers / management can be to the overall anatomy of an organization. This is not a specific commentary, but rather a general observation. 

This realization, that entire systems and agencies like Hydro One can be “captured by bad management,” leads me to further think that this is a major contributing factor to an emerging and singular narrative in our communities today – something is seriously broken in our societal foundation. What we are doing, point-blank, is simply not working. Our social, economic, political, and health systems are desperately reacting to one of the greatest crises our world has ever encountered – addiction, mental illness, homelessness – a perfect storm of human chaos seemingly only to be building in momentum.

Yes, there are amazing people, agencies, and places arising to meet today’s greatest challenges; however, where I see a problem is in both a layer of management that 1) doesn’t even care about the real issues in our community, and 2) is infested with toxic people obsessed with power, control, and the growing size of budgets, departments, and authority. This bureaucratic phenomena is nothing new; big organizations always want to get bigger and more complicated so as to justify their existence.

In today’s world, where hundreds of lives are lost everyday to addiction, mental illness, and homelessness a revolution of middle management is needed if change is going to take place.

It is a fascinating thing to realize that often times, in my opinion and experience, the top line of leadership – owners, executives, elected members – is aligned with those out there on the frontline, or at least in theory. How much is lost in translation or diluted through management processes?

In today’s world of marvel and innovation surely there has to be a way to radically transform, or at least inspire middle management to embody a true sense of hope and leadership. 

A cult of gods

This week’s Met Gala, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” prompted a somewhat non-imaginative response from me. Even though New York’s top Catholic cleric, Cardinal Dolan didn’t seem to have issue with the event he himself attended, it prompted a pragmatic question in me – what do we hold to be “heavenly” in today’s day and age? To be clear, I’m not a theologian, fashion critic, or even celebrity observer, simply one guy working in the shadows of society, caught up in the human struggle.

I do find the timing of the Gala curious as today, many of us around the world, celebrate what is known as the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, a day to commemorate divine apparitions which commenced on May 13th, 1917 to three little children in Portugal – Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia dos Santos. In addition, today we also celebrate “The Feast of the Ascension of the Lord.”

What I see today seems to be a growing and curious phenomena tantamount to the rise of cults, where celebrities, substances, possessions, and social status take on an almost a demi-god-like prestige, worshiped as the preeminent be all and end all of life – a salvation of sorts in the material.

As habitual creatures, I get how easy it is for many of us to be drawn into obsession-like behaviour… but isn’t what’s happening more than that?

beasts of man – the worship of self

From my very personal perspective, at this present moment in time, I see five gods worshiped today, each of which could be deemed somewhat cultish. Each of these, in a hyper-communicable age, where truth appears to be told by the loudest or most convincing voices, seem to be growing in dynamism, ferocity, and some would argue – functionality.

god 1- the cult of chemical

First, psychoactive substances and their use, misuse, and abuse; the five headed, historical beast –  depressants, opioids, stimulants, hallucinogens, and psycho-therapeutics.  I’m not looking at this from some sort of puritan or moral perspective, calling for community-wide abstinence or disregarding the vast array of medical benefits certain substances help us with…. I see the issue with, as with many other “gods of our time,” extremism, leading to dependence, abuse, and pursuit of sheer escapism. I have witnessed far too many disappear into the dark abyss of addiction; fallen, broken, chasing a far off land that is hidden in smoke and dust sold to be salvation but is in fact a false idol.

“I give the fight up; let there be an end,
A privacy, an obscure nook for me.
I want to be forgotten even by God.”

Robert Browning, Paracelsus (1835)

There’s absolutely no judgement in me from the perspective of use, in fact, I started writing this at a local pub, pint in hand. The trouble I’ve seen, both in my own experience and in those of the lives around me has been an assault of marketing “material” salvation – to the extreme. There are so many reasons we turn to psychoactive agents, some life-critical, say in the case of Diabetes; others may stem from issues of trauma, abuse, or neglect, or even just having a bad day at work leading to a couple of beers of glasses of wine.  Look now however at the pain pandemic engulfing our world and the god which was sold to millions in OxyContin – be weary of the waves approaching the rabbit hole.

god 2 – the cult of celebrity

Celebrity culture has never been stronger, nor so prescriptive (act like me, be like me, look like me to succeed). Just look at the social media accounts of say Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian or even Oprah. Admittedly, this really isn’t an area I excel, social commentary on the celebrity class that is; however, I’ve picked up on two simple and concerning observations: 1) an obsession of celebrity and, more particular, celebrity body-types by youth, 2) the self-pursuit of god-like status by some celebrities as witnessed in the picture below.

god 3 – the cult of money

Financially, we are living in unparalleled times. Never has there been so much wealth on our planet, and yet never has so much of that wealth been held in the hands of so few. This great economic disparity has led in turn to what I see as the idolization of that wealth and power. This, of course, is nothing new in our societies or history as there have always been those who have, and those who have not; however, in a world of instant communications the polarization of wealth again has been extreme and thus cultish.

god 4 – the cult of body (perfection)

Recently returning from the Caribbean, I saw first hand how obsessive we can become over our bodies. About five years ago, that was me too – waking up around 4:00 am everyday to work out for at least 2 hours then go for a 10 klm run later that evening. In a world of instant communication, social media obsession, and the pursuit of perfection, our bodies have become prison of perfection, preventing so many from actually living in the moment for the sake of some pre-set image of someone else.

god 5 – the cult of communication

Communication. One of humanities greatest gifts; to be able to succinctly express ourselves defines our very being. That’s why our social media obsession has become so rather sad. Back to my recent sojourn to the south, it was painful to watch entire hoards of people spending literally hours trying to capture the best image for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever platform of choice they were wielding.

At the end of the day, all I know is what I see and what my intuition (informed by faith) tells me are concerning elements of today. Have our houses of worship been, for all intents and purposes, replaced by man-made deities, formed by our own will so as to enable our actions or is all of this merely a phase through which God will appear even more apparent, resplendent, and loving?

“What’s the earth

With all its art, verse, music, worth —

Compared with love, found, gained, and kept?”

― Robert Browning

An End Worth Seeking

May 1st, 2018

Every morning I wake up with one predominant, yet haunting question: how, in this day and age of human marvel, innovation, and instant action (politically, socially, economically)… how is it homelessness is STILL A REALITY? Yes, I am not blind in seeing this ancient phenomena as a linear or simple crisis; mental health, addiction, & vast economic disparity, all play their roles amongst other things in this tragedy.  But still, with all oversimplifications aside, how are there nearly 1.6 billion inhabitants of our planet living in inadequate housing, and of those, approximately 150 million homeless, when, at the same time we happily spend billions on a manned mission to mars?

Is there not a better way, we, as local and global communities, can be dealing with the abject crisis of homelessness in our midst? 

Recently, two stories have troubled me greatly, catching the eye of many. First, Los Angeles. In just six years, LA’s homeless population has increased by a shocking 75%. For such a progressive city, and state for that matter, I was absolutely blown away by the images of Angels Stadium Anaheim, completely engulfed by an endless field of tents and other makeshift shelters. Furthermore, the resultant expulsion and community outcry over a proposed homeless shelter really brought this to the level of national crisis in the US.

Did local officials in LA miss the mark by simply not seeing the coming statistical storm, or did they blatantly ignore the homeless? Either way, what has resulted is a nightmare, one in dire need of a radical solution. In my own community, a local housing resource centre and dual-sex emergency shelter was forced to close it’s seven (7) female beds – which, I might add from personal experience, provides an invaluable service to our community. Again, is this as a result of government officials not understanding how bad the situation is, or an actual attempt to systemically ignore the growing problem? How again can this actually be happening in 2018? 

In this world of such magic and marvel, where literally any dream is achievable as history has proven, I believe that ending global homelessness, ONCE AND FOR ALL, is not only an end worth seeking, but one we cannot afford to ignore any longer.

So what would our local and global communities look like without chronic homelessness, inadequate housing for the poorest 20%, and an end to the cycle of systemic oppression built around a general lack of access to affordable housing? In one word – healthier. In my opinion, the social, economic, and system wide benefits far outweigh the current means of tackling this crisis. It may seem too simple; however, living in a state of perpetual “survival” breaks us down; forcing us into places we would not need to go if there was a solid foundation under out feet.

So, what is the grand solution you might ask? In all honesty, I’m not sure at this point… that will come. What I am sure of however is that homelessness, in all of its nasty guises and forms, needs to no longer be a reality in the great human saga.

My own context & perspective is from the frontline, working at an “Emergency Housing Program” which provides emergency shelter, housing support, and stabilization and is facilitated by the Salvation Army in Canada & Bermuda Territory.

Monsters in our Midst

April 22nd, 2018

For many, today marks the fourth Sunday of Easter; a day more commonly referred to as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The name derives from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, which is read this day and celebrated as both an archetypical blueprint of complete leadership and the singular narrative of sacrifice ever present in any transformative agent. This is, for all intents and purposes a day of CALLING when young children celebrate first holy communions, men and women profess vows of fidelity, and the world hopefully draws back, if only for a moment, to take stock of where we are being called in this particular point of time?

Jesus said:
‘I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep.
The hired man, since he is not the shepherd
and the sheep do not belong to him,
abandons the sheep and runs away
as soon as he sees a wolf coming,
and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep;
this is because he is only a hired man
and has no concern for the sheep.
‘I am the good shepherd;
I know my own
and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father;
and I lay down my life for my sheep.
And there are other sheep I have
that are not of this fold,
and these I have to lead as well.
They too will listen to my voice,
and there will be only one flock,
and one shepherd.

John 10:11-18

Leadership, soaked in this endearing mystery of self-sacrifice cannot be blind to today’s reality. The Good Shepherd sees clearly coming storms, is aware of thunder before it cracks, and knows intimately those predators seeking harm at any cost in his midst. This is precisely why I think it is imperative to call out the monsters in our midst, those tyrannical wolves devouring the flock with what I see as unparalleled, unchallenged, and what I can only call savage barbarism.

Monster 1: Addiction
“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.” ― Edgar Allan Poe

No matter what way you look at it, addiction, in its many forms, be they illicit, licit, or simply societally accepted and encouraged – is completely engulfing large segments of our nations. This, for me, is tantamount to a raging fire moving through a wooden skyscraper.  Something radical is needed. It is almost as though a generational genocide is underway, systemically and purposely targeting members of our community – destroying lives one hit; one hook at a time. But why? But how? I see a culture of use growing, a zombie nation of chasers radically enabled by products, persons, places, and things. Obviously there is much more to this story as entire governments are now mobilizing responses to the Opioid Epidemic, and trying to offer some semblance of a counter balancing…

My fear, from the dark corners where I often work, is that this monster is only going to get worse.

Monster 2: Mental Illness
 “Emotional pain is not something that should be hidden away and never spoken about. There is truth in your pain, there is growth in your pain, but only if it’s first brought out into the open.”

Steven Aitchison

I don’t know where to begin here. Have our minds become the new battlefield of this millennia? Have we put far too much significance on the “diagnostic method,” and are now desperately trying to de-emphasize the significance of such labels? Just look at the “Adderall Affect” and ADHD. The whole thing seems to be one big mess and – NOT WORKING. Maybe I’m a fool for putting it this way but for me, any suicide is one too many… any person living in isolation, oppression, and abject vulnerability is one too many… any person living on a cocktail of medications so extreme they are a living zombie… is one too many.  Obviously, as stated above, there is far more to this story than my limited perspective and call to crisis  – especially in keeping the countless people working day in and day out in the trenches of mental illness. More must be done.

Monster 3: Homelessness
We have come dangerously close to accepting the homeless situation as a problem that we just can’t solve.

Linda Lingle

I work everyday with the homeless. It is more than a job; it is one of the most complex and challenging crises of our times. My passion is finding a solution… in some form or fashion. And still, at the end of everyday I get in my car and ask the same damn question – how? How, in a world drenched in such magical innovation and opulent wealth can anyone of our fellow humans be left without a safe place to shelter – or affordable housing for that matter? It is truly one of the most mind boggling phenomenas of the modern world.  We have come so far as a species and yet on any given night in CANADA, upwards of 35,000 citizens are homelessness. How is this even a reality, and why aren’t more screaming from the rooftops about it? Why have we not yet solved this problem?

My fear, in complete candour, is that homelessness, and the greater issue, POVERTY has become a massive industry, one which in itself fuels addiction, mental illness, and criminality.

Monster 4: Loneliness
“To be lonely is to feel unwanted and unloved, and therefor unloveable. Loneliness is a taste of death. No wonder some people who are desperately lonely lose themselves in mental illness or violence to forget the inner pain.” ― Jean Vanier, Becoming Human

Never before have we as a society been so connected; yet, never before have so many of us lived in isolation, loneliness, and “information control.” Social platforms, massive and minute can result in the opposite of their purpose – authentic relationships. I used to consider myself a very sociable person, with lots of friends, a strong professional network, and the ability to be amenable with the best of them. Like many others, after facing a personal tragedy all of that vanished into thin air… who was left? To be frank – no one, not one of those old “happy faces” hung around while my teeth were kicked in… well, except one saving grace.

We are social creatures and yet this need has been falsely replaced by a “social network,” the personal details of which have been sold to data-trolling-farms.  It’s sad, pathetic, and all together telling. We live on a lonely planet.

Monster 5: Money
 “The causes which destroyed the ancient republics were numerous; but in Rome, one principal cause was the vast inequality of fortunes.”
–NOAH WEBSTER

AMERICAN EDITOR AND WRITER (1758-1843)

Our world is rich in resources. Human capital is plentiful. Innovation is vibrant, responsive, and breaking upon a new age of marvel and exploration. Yet, billions upon billions live in poverty while plutocrats hold the strings of wealth and power like never before. Maybe this in itself is not a bad thing but surely there can be a better calibration of DISTRIBUTION? What I see in my daily work is a bubbling and brewing middle class angry at the ever-increasing cost of living while the 1% get wealthier and wealthier. One way or another this will need to change.

The Hero of Story

April 15th, 2018

One inarguably human truth is our love of storytelling. Simply put, we are united by great stories; no matter creed, culture, or background. History itself has been formed in ink, crafted by the most persuasive and creative minds to pass along yesterday’s story. Today however, living in an age of information warfare, where what is real and what is illusive falls on a thin line of perception, source-power, and political orientation… the heroism of great stories has never been greater.  This is why novels have not died and why, despite a world saturated in mobile device obsession, film still draws us in by the billions. We want to retreat to magical worlds of maybe, and be drawn into imaginative landscapes built by our better selves.

“Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.”

—Dr. Howard Gardner, professor Harvard University

From a young age, books have captivated a special part of my life.  Farley Mowat’s “Lost in the Barrens,” was most notably the first tale that sowed seeds of adventure in my mind and propelled me always to look out for great stories that speak to our ability to triumph over the most dire of circumstance. Yesterday, I was pleased to learn that one of my favourite all-time authors, “Jo Nesbo,” has released a long anticipated adaptation of Shakespeare’s long standing, epic tragedy “MACBETH.”

(Jo nesbo’s: macbeth)
He’s the best cop they’ve got. 

When a drug bust turns into a bloodbath it’s up to Inspector Macbeth and his team to clean up the mess.

He’s also an ex-drug addict with a troubled past. 

He’s rewarded for his success. Power. Money. Respect. They’re all within reach.

But a man like him won’t get to the top.

Plagued by hallucinations and paranoia, Macbeth starts to unravel. He’s convinced he won’t get what is rightfully his.

Unless he kills for it.

What gets me pumped about this book, and is literally forcing me out in an epic spring ice-storm to buy it, is both the long-standing appeal of Scotland’s “King Macbeth,” and his torturous relationship with fate and the guilt he faces after acting on it, and our thirst to have this tragedy retold in a modern context. There is an unparalleled depth to Macbeth which speaks to the human condition, both our yearning for and struggle with power, sedition, and betrayal. This is what drew me to Nesbo’s work in the first place, his ability to tap into something innately human – brokenness.  I started reading his Harry Hole series after my own life had taken a very indignant ride to “Shitsville, USA.” As everything burned around me, I found solace in the heavy smoking, alcohol-drenched, friendless genius of Oslo’s top detective – Harry.

“Inside each of us is a natural-born storyteller, waiting to be released.”

— Robin Moore, author

Years ago, I had the idea to develop a short story called “For all the Saints.” It was inspired by my time in Glasgow, Scotland where I was studying and an insatiable question (which I’ve been asking now more than ever…) “what if everything we know to be true, is, in fact, based on a lie?”  After years of scribbling notes in a tiny red book I decided to take the leap and get it finished. Fast forward a few months and presto, draft one of the more aptly named “THE SAVAGING” was sitting on my desk glaring back at me. After working with a fabulous editor in London, Leila Dewji we hit print and set sail into the world of storytelling antics.

Clearly I ran into a bit of a snag as although I am insanely proud of my cover art, it happened to be released on or around all of the controversy in Charlottesville US.  This terrible event brought the “Nazi narrative” back to the forefront of our collective consciousness and left a lot of people nervous when speaking of this period of time and the potential resurgence of such a pervasive and destructive ideology.  My artwork, and story, simply speak to an alternate-history, thriller built on a scientific breakthrough called “PANGEA,” and the rise of a daunting power the likes of which the world has never seen.

Sharing this story has been an educational enterprise to say the least. Even the other day, when giving a signed copy of  “The Savaging” to a friend I could see a slight tinge of hesitation in her eyes and those looking over her shoulder in a small, rural cafe… that’s ok, as I’m confident the story offers more than awkward looks. If anything, it speaks to the times we are living in and the question at the heart of this story and our present climate… how have we come to be at this particular period of time in history? 

I’ve learned a lot and can’t wait to get “STORY II” out there… “No King But Caesar,” which brings the American/Russian drama to the forefront… through the new global state creation of “Prussian-Afro-Asia,” and the resurgence of “British North America.”

What will come next is only limited by the borders of imagination.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
― George Orwell

 

 

Housing – Basic Right, Remedy, or Rebellion?

Years ago I found myself in a housing dilemma, one that some may have defined as a state of “homelessness.” For me, this experience and the sheer panic that consumed each day of it, inspired me to dedicate a large part of my life today to homelessness prevention, national housing innovation, and crisis services. Straight up, any one of us can, in the snap of a finger find ourselves in a state of homelessness – it truly knows no discrimination (as my experience proved viciously).  The question is: what are we actually doing to prevent homelessness, and, maybe more importantly, what are we doing about homelessness as a systemic community reality?

To start, do we see housing as an innate human right or just another element of the social crisis taking place in our midst? Do we, as a society both locally and globally have a duty to ensure that all citizens have access to a safe, stable, and affordable place to live? Or should housing merely be another aspect of life determined by free enterprise and democracy; market and social pressures as a result of supply, demand, and emergency response? This is a debate I find myself in the thick of each and every day, and this I believe is a major contributing factor to the crisis of our times. There are millions of people every day wondering this planet with no place to call home – and billions, living in housing insecurity.

Based on national reports, it’s estimated that no less than 150 million people, or about 2 percent of the world’s population, are homeless. However, about 1.6 billion, more than 20 percent of the world’s population, may lack adequate housing.

Yale University

Housing and the intersection of homelessness is not a new debate or train of thought.  There appears to be a ton of amazing research on this topic, including lots of moral arguments “for guaranteed, basic housing,” even underpinned by the United Nations dating back to the 1970s (and beyond):

Nothing in Canada’s constitution establishes a right to housing, and courts haven’t declared one to exist. However, Canada has signed and ratified the 1976 United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and in Article 11 it does recognize “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.”

Katie Hyslop In Canada, housing is a right. Right? 

So, if we know both chronic homelessness and lack of affordable housing are major societal problems why do all of the apparent solutions (system wide) seem so reactionary and… over capacity? I give as evidence to this argument the fact that just about every “social housing” agency in Ontario has both long wait lists (mutliple year) and what appears to be ever increasing demand. This in turn places much more pressure on emergency shelter responses.

Absence of a definition of homelessness, agreed upon by most nations, hampers meaningful comparisons.

Yale University

One great working model I have personally experienced during my tenure with the Salvation Army has been Indwell.  For me, this amazing organization has developed a program that truly offers those in need a safe, stable, and affordable housing option.  In Simcoe, their Hambleton Hall project provides 35 affordable, independent living apartments with an addition 5 units assigned to emergency housing assistance. Below provides a fabulous visual on the difficulties those living on a limited income face when trying to make ends meet.

So, where do we go from here? There are entire armies of brilliant people working on this societal problem which gives me hope that something very positive is just around the corner. For me, I believe INNOVATION is the key; marrying private, public, and health sectors together in order to draft a bold new plan of action. Yes, in today’s world of magical, imagination blowing technology there must be a means of guaranteeing housing for our most vulnerable. The cost along of chronic homelessness is staggering.

If on any given night in Canada, there are 35,000 + homeless and over 550,000 in the US we must be able to offer a better solution than temporary, emergency beds. This “new homeless nationality,” as Margaret Atwood  stated in her 1988 “Cat’s Eye,” must be served in a radical new way.

For All the Fallen

 

April 1st, 2018

“Unfortunately, the data released today have confirmed our fear that that the crisis has worsened significantly since 2016, despite the efforts from all levels of government and partners to reverse the trend.” 
Special Advisory Committee on the Epidemic of Opioid Overdoses

CANADA

In a world with such potential and phenomena, how is it that so many of our species are self-terminating? Should this not be our greatest, single most glaring indicator that something is going terribly wrong? Earlier this week, the Public Health Agency of Canada’s  recently formed Special Advisory Committee on the Epidemic of Opioid Overdoses reported a 45% increase in opioid-related overdoses between January and September of 2017.

 

 

 

So is this an issue of total societal breakdown, product access, or rather a systematic attack of our population base by a foreign agent – psychoactive or otherwise? It has been long-reported that Fentanyl is gaining access to North America via China.  What truly is the monster in our midst – the potent drug or the master behind that drug destroying lives for the pursuit of power, profit, and control?

For me, there are four very concerning narratives emerging from this recent data release: 1) Point of Origin (who is producing these psychoactive weapons killing our people by the hundreds every day?), 2) Means of Trafficking (how is the massive distribution network moving illicit and licit products throughout North America operating so efficiently?), 3) Need to Use (why is there such a demand or need to use such lethal products?), & 4) Recovery Services (why are we failing to provide an adequate counter-balancing to the overdose epidemic – across the board).

These are troubling times, no doubt, for those not only enraptured by substance use, misuse, and abuse but also for the countless family, friends, and foes watching an entire generation die in our midst.

My opinion is this: the epidemic is only going to get worse; the solution will come from a bolder, more collaborative, integrated and innovative approach that tackles both the concerns of drug sourcing / distribution and positive, holistic, recovery options for all trapped in a state of physical or psychological dependency.

Make no doubt, I believe we are living in the beginning stages of a multi-front war the likes of which we have never experienced. Light; however, always rises throughout the temperance of time. Priorities; what priorities we now make will plot the course of our future.

 

 

 

A Crisis Within

March 23rd, 2018

With all the talk this week about a bold, tough, and three-pronged American plan to tackle the Opioid Epidemic, I wanted to take a brief moment to reflect on what I see as one element of a global crisis gripping the world, the likes of which we have never seen.

The media bonanza from Monday’s event, although hyper-focused on announcing a potential “death penalty” for drug traffickers not only validated my concerns about our present global predicament, but amplified them. For me, there is no denying that we are living in extremely concerning times.

Those who think themselves the masters of others are indeed greater slaves than they.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Growing up on a picturesque farm full of life, light, and hope I never would have imagined my life becoming dedicated to the “shadows,” those dark and often unspoken corners of the world where so much terror takes place. Working everyday on the frontline of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness, a singular and common narrative has been emerging to me –  something is terribly wrong.  

Even more difficult to ingest for me however, let alone process, is that our systematic responses to what is currently happening are clearly not working.  Absolutely, organizations like CAMH, CMHA, CCDUS, and countless others play a vital role in helping many survive each and everyday; however, I fear the pandemic in our midst is only growing in brutality, ferocity, and political weaponization.

We live in a world under siege.

Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.

George Orwell

But who REALLY CARES about all this – the seething, messy, complicated reality of our times? What makes my view any different or less apt than that of my fellow workers or citizens living the daily reality of crisis? I believe, wholeheartedly, that we as a society, although living on the near edge of hell are actually approaching a threshold of an emerging time, a time of potential, imagination, hope, and… healing.  There is still something more within us, “,” a potential not used, a potential not yet discovered, a potential born from these very shadows in our midst.

If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is – infinite.

William Blake

Today I see five very distinct “shadow-side-realities” consuming our communities. Agree or disagree, each “shadow” can be all consuming; however, together, they have changed the face of our world.

Shadow One: 
Eco-Pharma-Feudalism
The business of medicine

Let’s start with the most obvious tremor of our times, a major fracture that has resulted in an unparalleled dictatorship of power like no other – the marriage of economics & pharmaceuticals.

On the very same day President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency, the US federal government arrested a wealthy pharmaceutical company executive on charges of bribing doctors to needlessly prescribe his firm’s opioid painkiller.  Do we need to say anymore?

Pharmaceuticals, be they licit or illicit, play a massive role in our day to day lives.  Just over two decades ago (1995), what was to be marketed as the ultimate non-addictive pain-reliever, “OxyContin,” began to flood our physicians offices and prescription pads. What was hailed as a breakthrough treatment for chronic pain quickly became one of the planet’s most unforgiving nightmares – resulting in unprecedented addictions, government prohibition, and the reactive emergence of Fentanyl. Through it all, Purdue Pharma, a privately held pharmaceutical company brought in millions.

Stimulants, depressants, opioids, hallucinogens, and psychotherapeutics have become dominant and normalized fixtures of daily living. The long-term impact this has on our society is unknown. It is estimated that the illicit drug economy represents upwards of $870 billion dollars a year and was instrumental in preventing the great recession of 2008 from becoming a depression like that of 1929.

Shadow Two:
Addiction
a generational assault.

I see an entire generation being wiped out by substance use, misuse, and dependency.  It is a shocking reality of our times; the wasting away of once vibrant human beings, prisoners to a bio-psycho-social phenomena known as addiction.  Then there’s the story of Adderall, a performance enhancing amphetamine being fed to youth like candy… take your pills right?

History teaches that addiction has always been a troubling ordeal for our species. The British fought two wars with the Chinese between 1839 and 1860 over Opium importing, resulting in the largest addiction ever in world history, with an estimated 20 million Chinese addicted. Then there is alcohol and cannabis, both ancient agents still reeking havoc for millions.

Today, powerful synthetic drugs such as amphetamines, ecstasy, diazepam, methaqualone, fentanyl, and semi-synthetics such as morphine, codeine, heroin, have the ability to deliver lethal doses of chemical agents within seconds of use. My fear is that what we are seeing in our communities, from an over-dose / mortality point of view is just the tip of the iceberg.

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness nand a dread of some strange impending doom.”

Edgar Allan Poe

Shadow Three:
Homelessness
The great tragedy of our times

In a world of autonomous cars, recyclable space rockets, and water desalination technology how on earth is homelessness still a reality? Every year, when a major cold snap hits our cities, “cold alerts” are raised, and more emergency shelter beds are accessed but still – people die, frozen on the street.

 

Homelessness, much like crisis, knows no discrimination. It can come in a snap of finger or gradually creep up on an individual, couple, or family who simply find themselves in a “housing hole.” Add to this a dramatic increase in the housing market throughout 2017, and the reality of homelessness appears to be here to stay.

Housing, in my opinion, does not simply solve homelessness. Addiction, mental illness, and other contributing factors often play a role in chronic homelessness. These issues must first be addressed or at minimum have supports in place to work toward permanent, stable housing.

This year, a National Housing Strategy was announced in Canada.

Shadow Four:
Mental Illness
diagnosis wonderland

According to the American Psychiatric Association, mental health is the bedrock of our thinking, communication, learning, resilience and self-esteem. Mental health is also key to relationships, personal and emotional well-being and contributing to community or society.  Transversely, mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behaviour (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.

Until recently I was not fully aware of the dramatic impact both mental health and mental illness represent in our local and global community.  Access to mental health support is at a crisis level.

Shadow Five:
Wealth Distribution
Poverty of the soul

I am not a Marxist. I am not a socialist. I believe that the private sector can play a massive part in funding the public sector, either directly or indirectly – innovation, job creation, project management.  All of that aside, and much like our other topics, “wealth distribution,” in particular, “wealth inequality” has become such a topic of concern I believe it now stands outside of political spectrum.  Clearly there’s a problem.

One major issue I see, daily, is that oppression begets oppression. When clients enter into a world of social benefit dependency it appears to be tremendously difficult to get out of that sphere of economic minimalism.

 Shadow Six:
Purposelessness
an abyss of our times

Finally,  I see as one of the greatest shadow-lines of our times to be purposelessness. Maybe this is from decades of nihilistic thinking or maybe it’s completely understandable as we live in an age of perpetual over stimulation – spoon fed content, data, and even thoughts faster than we can recognize what we were first looking at. Think of online news. Click on one story and before you know it Google or Facebook or Amazon have you bouncing all over the place.

What has happened to our appreciation of a broader picture, a shared cause,  and destined meaning to life? What has happened to wonder, awe, curiousness… what has happened to our longing for mystery and fulfilment?

Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.

Henry David Thoreau

There are times in history that stand beyond political allegiances or long-held opinions; there are times in history that become so painstakingly obvious that all people must act. This is where I believe we are today – in a vacuum of dire, abject, and bloody need. We are living in a time that forces us to ask who we are as a society, how this has come to be, and, most importantly, where the hell we are going?

If you don’t say what you think then you kill your unborn self.

Jordan B. Peterson

 

Comments of the Day – Words without Borders

monsters in our midst

For years I’ve been moaning and groaning about the world around me. Truthfully, it’s been closer to abject bitching and complaining about the faults in our foundations. I’ve always seen myself as some sort of “social contract observer,” surveying the damage from decades of neglect, crisis, and war. Now that the opioid epidemic is here, literally taking 115 souls a day in the US alone (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018), a sense of “Global Triage” is emerging in my words.

In more recent months, working with some of our communities most vulnerable I have learned a life-changing lesson – transformation does not catalyze from mere complaints, vague prescriptions, or some top-down authority… we simply can’t command our way out of the mess in our midst anymore. Something far more significant is going to be needed – something radical.

This then is the purpose of my blog, “Beasts Like Me” – to search the globe for emerging solutions to our present crisis… and, in the process, to also find the daring innovators of change.

But first… a word from Mr. Huxley:

That humanity at large will ever be able to dispense with artificial paradises seems very unlikely. Most men and women lead lives at worst so painful, at best so monotonous, poor and limited that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and has always has been one of the principal appetites of the soul.

Aldous Huxley, 1952