The Lapu Lapu tragedy, which has been called one of the deadliest days in Vancouver history, has led to international attention in the form of a new documentary episode on the city’s mental health crisis.
Vancouver was mentioned in one of the latest episodes of The Documentary, a free, award-winning BBC podcast series that reports on stories “from everywhere.”
In a blurb about the episode hosted by Sam Gruet, the BBC talks about the suspect, Adam Kai-Jo, mentioning how he was being supervised under the Mental Health Act when the attack transpired.
“This case has sparked a conversation about mental health and the way it is dealt with, or not, in the city,” BBC states.
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Folks dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues have been at the forefront of many violent crimes that have been committed in Vancouver over the past several years. Following the events of the Lapu Lapu tragedy, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has expressed his frustrations in trying to get help from other levels of government to address the mental health crisis, not just in the City of Vancouver, but throughout the province.
During a press conference in April, the mayor demanded action.
“Vancouver is doing what we can, but we can’t face this alone,” Sim said, adding that health care is a provincial responsibility.
Sim said that criminal incidents in connection with residents suffering from mental health issues represent a “recurring pattern.”
“There are people out there who should not be directing their care,” Sim continued.
In The Documentary episode, the BBC travelled to Richmond to chat with Kash Heed, a former police officer, and someone Daily Hive spoke to in April about crime and justice (or the lack thereof) in Vancouver.
“We’ve got this ongoing, prolonged problem of people having significant mental health issues that need to be treated that are out there in public spaces,” he told the BBC.
The BBC podcast episode also focused on Vancouver’s drug crisis, pointing out that drug overdose is the leading cause of death for people in B.C. aged 1o to 59.
BBC also travelled to Riverview Hospital to chat with the mayor of Coquitlam, Richard Stewart. Over the past several years, there have been many calls from residents to reopen the former asylum. BBC asked Stewart, who was emotional during his section of the episode, what the solution is. While he didn’t have a definitive answer, he did share his thoughts.
“We lose sons and daughters and fathers and mothers because we’re not contemplating how best to treat them.”
Stewart said that a lot of the tragedy around mental health is avoidable. Other voices featured in the documentary pointed to involuntary care as a potential solution.
The episode ends with a note about how change could be on the horizon, mentioning how B.C. Premier David Eby has ordered a review and modernization of the province’s Mental Health Act.
BBC has the full episode available on The Documentary website.