When the BC NDP were in opposition, they fought hard to see that Mountain View Home, an Abbotsford residence for adults with complex mental health issues, stayed open.
The facility had its funding pulled at the time, leaving 25 residents and their families wondering what they were supposed to do.
It was to be closed to fund a newer facility on Marshall Road, which offered fewer fully-licensed beds and supportive options.
WATCH: Mountain View care home to stay open
The Fraser Health Authority later decided that Mountain View could remain open, with one condition — that it couldn’t admit any more residents.
Then-BC NDP mental health critic Sue Hammell slammed the decision at that time.
“You can’t keep a facility open with one hand and then be closing it with the other,” she said.
“It is mean-spirited and cruel.”
But now that the BC NDP are in government, nothing much seems to be changing at Mountain View.
READ MORE: Mountain View mental health facility allowed to stay open: Fraser Health Authority
B.C. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy has not committed to reversing Fraser Health’s decision.
“As part of building a better strategy for mental health and addictions, we’re going to be reviewing how we best deliver those services and meet people’s needs,” she said.
“We’re trying to do a really hard assessment of how many beds we have, what kinds of beds they are, what are the variety of programs and services that we need.”
Fraser Health, meanwhile, doesn’t appear to have waited for the results of that assessment.
On Wednesday, the authority sent Mountain View a letter saying that no new patients would be funded, leaving four beds empty.
“We have to deny the people who need support and care and programming,” Mountain View director Patrick Newby told Global News. “It was really disappointing and devastating.”
WATCH: Mountain View mental health facility tour
Newby, and the people who live at Mountain View, hope that the BC NDP show the same passion for the facility that they demonstrated in opposition.
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