This 19-year-old attempted suicide. Hospital staff sent him to a homeless shelter – CBC

Nova Scotia Health says not all mental health crises require hospitalization

Apr 23, 2026

Paramedics rolled Jeremiah Dixon into the emergency department on a gurney after he’d made multiple attempts to take his own life. Less than a day later, he was discharged and sent by taxi to a local homeless shelter.

“I was scared and shocked,” the 19-year-old said in an interview at his family home in Dartmouth, N.S. “I was still like dizzy and stuff, and they just sent me off with some snacks and a ride to the shelter.

“I was a little confused as to why … the doctors would send someone in my state out of the hospital where they should be getting help.”

Jeremiah, who has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and borderline personality disorder, says he’s experienced suicidal thoughts since he was about eight years old.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-mental-health-crisis-9.7171701