The young woman who is under the supervision of the public curator since she lives with a light intellectual disability and a limited personality disorder has been made in arrest and imprisoned recently for having struck and threatened stakeholders who work with her.
Menottée, Érika* (fictitious name) took place in room 3 of the Sherbrooke courthouse on Friday.
She has been confined for two and a half years with people who live with heavy impairments and who do not have the capacity to speak. Her only social contacts are those with her speakers, who exercise authority over her.
Violent gestures
His first gestures took place on January 27. The situation then degenerated. Four times, she reoffended, including three times in May. “Unfortunately, she disorganized herself at the last weekend in July,” the prosecutor at criminal and criminal prosecutor, Corinne Bolduc.
“I went over my duties,” she assured the judge. […] The problem is that there is no resource. Érika is literally taken in a resource with people living with intellectual disabilities, while her need is in mental health. ”
“I don’t think its place is in detention. However, I must ensure the protection of victims and society. ”
— Me Corinne Bolduc, Crown prosecutor
But what is its place in our system? “It looks like you can respond to both problems, but never both at the same time,” analyzed his lawyer, Jonathan Poirier, legal aid.
The Ciusss of Estrie-Chus, which manages the resource in which Erika lives, refused the request for interview The platform For “reasons of confidentiality and out of respect for the current legal process”.
Érika was owned six days in total, in Laval. “It questioned me. I don’t want anyone to harm anyone, ”said the young woman.
Eight meetings
According to the defense lawyer, the CIUSSS “held eight meetings and he has still not found a solution,” he protests. The young woman is also supervised by a clinical nurse to help her manage her emotions and tolerance for distress.
A resource manager where Erika is hosted has taken the witness bar. According to her, the young woman has no discussions with other users in her environment, “since most do not speak”.
“Unlike Érika, the other users will never go to an apartment,” she describes. They do not learn to wash and do not have access to the kitchen. They really don’t have the same level of autonomy. ”
However, the manager feels “a desire to provide all possible scenarios in terms of accommodation”. “Management will have to position itself on a scenario that will be selected or not,” she believes.
“This is a very complex situation,” she adds. I have rarely seen that. Depending on my experience, it can take months, I don’t know. I feel a will of the directions, which have mobilized. I know it will not be short -term. ”
“Intervening with someone with a severe intellectual disability or with someone who has the profile of Erika is two worlds. In a sense, it delays its rehabilitation. “
— CIUSSS manager
The manager is aware that Erika will reoffend. “It is not easy for the staff, who feels helpless. Some staff members file a complaint, others not. There may be three times more accusations, ”she says.
Last Friday, judge Hélène Fabi of the Court of Quebec agreed to return Érika to her resource. “Yes there is a risk, but he is assidable. You engage in me to react differently when you live frustrations, ”she said.
“I think your educators can be your allies and help you. They can say that you will be able to get out of it, to understand that it is not easy, but to see the path. These people want to help you, they don’t want to harm you, “said the judge while Erika shed tears into the accused’s box.
In the meantime, Érika will have to return to court on September 4.