After a series of meetings with community groups, proponents of Cottage Farm, a proposed mental health recovery community, say they are nearly ready to begin applying for rezoning permits on their West Howe Sound property.
Cottage Farm co-founder Alison Nixon and project manager Susann Richter said they wanted to meet the community members around the property, just north of YMCA Camp Elphinstone, to explain the unique project and answer questions before moving ahead.
The proponents envision Cottage Farm to be a different approach to mental health care for people with chronic disorders like bi-polar or schizophrenia that involves doctors, nurses, volunteers and patients living and working together on an organic farm in a "loving, caring environment," as Nixon puts it. The goal would be to take patients and offer therapeutic work and psychiatric care to prepare them to live independently in their home community.
Nixon was inspired to take on the project after years of watching her son, who has schizophrenia, have ups and downs in the medical system. She said one of the best signs of healing he showed was while visiting an ashram in the Interior where he received care and performed daily work in organic farming.
Nixon said her son went from being totally hunched over, non-verbal and catatonic to being able to understand, focus and complete some tasks.
"I'm not saying it cured the illness, but having a steady routine, being involved with the land, being surrounded by a loving, caring group of people - it just made the most enormous difference. There was beginning to be a bit of light in his eyes," she said.
Nixon said, conversely, the atmosphere in hospitals can be sterile and cold. She said she noticed this in the response of other patients who saw her hug her son while he was a patient at Riverview Hospital.
"There was this great big bear of a man, over 6-3 and 300 pounds, and he was like a puppy. He said 'Can I have a hug?'" Nixon whispered. "I said 'absolutely' - and within minutes there was a line up of patients who just needed something physical. They needed a hug. They just needed someone to touch them, and you can't do that in hospitals. The staff aren't allowed."
The farm, as envisioned, would take up about 10 hectares for organic vegetable, orchard and berry farming, as well as a barn, greenhouses, residential buildings and a central building with offices, meeting space and a dining area. The total population for patients would be 36 with 35 to 45 staff and volunteers, Richter said.
Food grown on the farm would be used to feed Cottage Farm residents and staff and could be sold locally.
Wolfgang Duntz, a Bowen Island property developer and developer of Cottage Farm, purchased the property last year after inspecting it and found it ideal for farming.
Lee Turnbull, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) director for West Howe Sound, said her constituents have come to her with both praise and concern over the Cottage Farm idea.
"Here's what I'm hearing from the people: they think it's a fabulous concept; they're just not sure about the location. It seems to them that it's maybe just a bit too close to kids and they're concerned about safety," she said.
Nixon said safety is a common fear when it comes to living near the mentally ill, but she said it is a myth that they pose a threat to the public.
"One of these fears that people bring to this is 'mental patients, oh my god, they're all dangerous.' But we both know that people who are living with chronic mental illnesses are living right around the corner and they're in our families, and they're no more dangerous than you or I are most of the time," Nixon said.
She added that patients must be stable, free of drugs and alcohol and medication compliant.
"Our clients will be screened for past history of violence or aggressive behaviour or sexually predatory behaviour, and if they have that, then they won't be eligible for admission," Richter added.
Nixon and Richter have toured similar therapeutic communities in the United States and found there have been no security issues at any they attended.
Turnbull said her constituents have also raised concerns about how Cottage Farm may put a strain on the Sunshine Coast's mental health services and what will happen with the residents when they are being discharged.
Richter said the staffing model will require bringing doctors from off-Coast to work on the farm. The plan is to expand the operation to include a day program that would allow mentally ill patients from the Coast to participate. She said all patients will go through an extensive discharge process over the course of one year or six months before they return to their own communities.
In order to get into operation, Cottage Farm will have to go through a rezoning process and official community plan amendment. That will include a public hearing and public input meeting as well as several referrals to other agencies such as the Agricultural Land Commission, Squamish First Nation, and health and environment ministries.
Richter said she hopes to begin filing applications for rezoning sometime this fall.
