This is my son, Mikhail Hanning. Just over a year ago Mikhail was an A student in grade 11. He was working at IGA, saving money for university. He was involved in basketball and soccer, was popular with his friends and close with family members. He was a kind, bright, funny boy with a quirky sense of humour.

Our world changed forever as Mikhail started on a downward spiral, suffering from mental illness and later being diagnosed with Schizophrenia and a mood disorder. He's spent months at a time over the last year at the Carlile Centre in the Hope Centre in North Vancouver as well as spending time in our local hospital on several occasions for weeks at a time. During his suffering with his mental health, he turned to substances in attempts to deal with it. This has contributed to his hospitalization and had us ultimately preparing for his death, while we helplessly watched our loved one slip away more each day. 

After a year of devastation, the torturous feeling that I can't help or save my boy, fearful that each day would be my son's last day on this earth, Mikhail accepted that he needed treatment for his substance abuse. While stabilizing and detoxing in the hospital his team searched for treatment options. Door after door closed in our faces due to the lack of funding for youth programs and the fact that most treatment facilities don't support mental health and substance abuse. It was beginning to look hopeless and that he would just be returned home to begin the nightmare all over again.