Indeed.
There is a ton of research on FASD, a lot of it from Alberta, including the Institute of Health Economics (
consensus statement) here in Edmonton that shows a disproportionate amount of individuals with FASD interact with the justice and correctional systems relative to those in the general population. "In 2011/12, it cost an average of $114,000 per year per prisoner in federal prison, much more than it costs to provide similar services - justice or otherwise - in the community. Several studies suggest 10-25% of prisoners have FASD, some push that much higher because of low diagnosis rates of FASD (must confirm birth parent drank - hard to do if the mom is dead or missing). When this conference took place, jury heard that "The jury heard evidence about a cross-sectoral program in Alberta that supports people with FASD in the community for costs below $5,000 per person served per year or $1.63 per capita, a figure that is far below correctional costs".
Throwing around statements to treat them all like criminals and that they should understand their actions and be able to make decisions like the rest of us is missing a lot of context about those living with disabilities that are homeless. You and I understand that stealing a loaf of bread is likely to result in us being arrested. Better yet, we also understand that punching a police officer that is cuffing us for stealing the loaf of bread will result in even more consequences. Not having the literal part of the brain that helps you understand consequences makes it incredibly difficult to make decisions that result in a better future when they don't even know how to manage money or not steal things.
On the contrary, we need to look at the homeless population and consider that a very high proportion of them can't make decisions on their own without wraparound supports instead of thinking of sending them the way of the correctional system as the first stop. The consequences of doing so are huge and expensive. I realize that empathy for those that are homeless is at an all time low given the state of our City; however, that doesn't mean you should toss out critical thinking altogether.
Perhaps questioning why these people have FASD in the first place would be a good place to start? Could it be that settlers opened up liquor stores on reserves 50 years ago without any plan on the downstream effects of doing so? Its much easier to say that the majority of homeless people should just know what they are doing and treat them as criminals just as its super easy to say that street level retail only makes sense in Edmonton and that pedways are bad without considering the fact that there are seniors and disabled people that should have the same right to access the City as able bodied people. It is incredibly disheartening to read the entitlement and ignorance on this board on a regular basis. I had to make an account to post this in hopes that people rethink some of their opinions and maybe approach issues with more empathy in the future.
