P.E.I. mother says province discriminating against mentally ill daughter

P.E.I.'s Human Rights Commission in Charlottetown is hearing a mother's allegationtheprovincial government is discriminatingagainst her 24-year-old daughter, who has schizophrenia.

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A panel of three human rights commissioners has been hearing theemotional casefor two days.

This problem is much bigger than my own daughter. Millie King

MillieKing, a mental health nurse, says the province denied her daughter help through the disability support program.

"It's just devastating," said King.

"If we hadn't had the support of family and friends, co-workers along the way, I don't know how we would've survived, really,because there's been a lot of doors shut," she said.

King's daughter receivesabout $300 per month insocial assistance benefitsfrom the province, but the family was seeking long-term financial assistance for housinga place for her daughter to live independently withextra care provided.

King said she was told her daughter doesn't qualifybecause the disability support programis only for Islanders with physical and intellectual disabilities.

The Kings allege that is discriminationand made a formal complaint to the commission.

"This problem is much bigger than my own daughter. This is a huge problemand I'd be so very pleased if that could change," said King.She wantsthe province to recognize mental illness as a disability.

Mental health support needed

On Thursday, Reid Burke from the P.E.I. branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association testified everyone can, to a degree, recover from mental illness, and the disability support programis only for people who can't workbecause they will never recover.

Burke says his organization provides supportand saidKing's daughter was part of its programsand she did gethelp finding her own apartment.

However, King said that living situation didn't have the support she needed, so her daughter had to move back home.

Burke testified thatlabelling those with mental illness as disabled is wrong, because he saysthosewith mental illness can recover with the right supports in place.

The province will call its witnesses to testify when thehearing resumes Friday. It's scheduled to last three days, but could go longer.

The government has offered the family an undisclosed settlement, which they refused.