No Place to Go

Directed by Wendy Hill-Tout for The National Film Board of Canada

• "a touching, provocative documentary about mental health care for the needy." - Booklist

In Canada, as in the United States, more and more mental institutions have downsized and released their mental patients into the community. These communities are often ill prepared to accept the former patient and, as we learn from this film, the patient may be forced to live on the street.

This film examines the situation of several homeless people suffering from mental illness and the handful of agencies that exist to help them. These "beacons of hope in a sea of despair" serve this population by finding temporary housing, counselling, and responding to emergencies. But the shortage of more such facilities means that many patients are left on their own, and the only shelter available becomes the local jail.

American Psychiatric Association, 1995
Chris Award, Columbus International Film & Video Festival, 1994
First Place, Patient Care, Int'l Health and Medical Film Festival, 1994

28 min. Video or DVD. Sale $250. Video rental $55.