The family of a B.C. man with developmental disabilities and living with addiction says a paperwork dispute is preventing them from helping him get the help he needs.
Emillia Winnig’s brother Eysiah is currently under the care of Community Living BC (CLBC), a Crown corporation that supports adults with developmental disabilities.
Eysiah is non-verbal, has been diagnosed with autism, paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and has the IQ of a five-year-old.
Winnig said he’s also been diving deeper and deeper into drug use on the Downtown Eastside, a situation that’s seen him repeatedly be admitted to hospital, and that he is refusing the medication he needs to stay stable.
“What’s happened is he’s continuing to use, he’s continuing to get into overdose-related states, he’s refusing any medical care,” she said.
“Based on his status as a non-verbal autistic bipolar schizophrenic young man with an IQ under 70, of course he’s going to say no to any medical help, he doesn’t quite understand what that means other than it’s uncomfortable and he just doesn’t want it.“
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She told Global News that Eysiah’s caregiver said her brother has begun using intravenous drugs and has insinuated that he is exchanging sex for drugs.
“I don’t feel that CLBC is as concerned as I am,” she said.
Winnig said she’s since filed a complaint with the Crown corporation, along with the Premier’s Office and the B.C. Ombudsperson.
But she said soon after filing the paperwork, CLBC came back and told her the representation agreement she signed for her brother seven years ago was invalid because she signed a box on it that Eysaih was supposed to.
“This is an agreement they helped me fill out … I re-sent it to them in 2020 and 2021 and actually every six months since then, never once have they pointed out this clerical error,” she said.
“It is a little convenient that within a day of me filing a complaint and emailing the Premier’s Office that they’ve found this error.”
Winnig said she’s had trouble visiting her brother and that she is becoming increasingly concerned he could die of an overdose.
Both CLBC and Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Sheila Malcolmson declined interview requests.
“I understand it can be deeply painful when someone is facing health or substance use challenges,” Malcolmson said in a statement.
“My expectation as Minister is that CLBC continues to strengthen supports and safeguards, and that all policies and protocols are followed.”
In its own statement, CLBC said representation agreements “do not allow someone else, including family, to take away the rights of an adult to make their own decisions. Similarly, CLBC does not have the legal authority to force individuals into treatment.”
Winnig said that’s a problem because her brother’s psychosis, combined with his intellectual disabilities, have left him in a state where he doesn’t understand what he is doing.
“I just don’t understand how it’s gotten to this point when he’s got a family that cares about him,” she said.
“We wish we could do more and take him in and care for him, but his medical issues are far outside our own expertise. And these guys are the experts, and all they keep doing is saying, ‘He’s got a right to choose.’”
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