A Halifax man who has struggled with mental illness and homelessness says there needs to be another option than jail.
Collins Ellison, 28, has suffered from schizophrenia most of his adult life. He has been in and out of prison since 2017.
“My interactions with police were entirely negative,” he told the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners during a virtual meeting this month.
Ellison, who is African Nova Scotian, asked to speak to the board after learning of Halifax Regional Police’s request to increase its budget by $2 million to hire 25 more officers.
Mental health services lacking
In 2020, Ellison was
