Richard Wright: Man Handing Out Free Money To Cheer People Up Detained In Mental Hospital

Richard Wright, a Canadian man who was reported to have given free money to strangers on the streets of Halifax Regional Municipality last week, was sent by the local police to a mental hospital, Metro News Canada reports.

He was approached by the police after they were alerted of his generous gestures last Thursday. After speaking with Wright, the cops decided to refer him to a mental hospital in Charlottetown for a mental health assessment.

Sgt. Leanne Butler said that the officers who encountered Wright deemed it necessary to send Wright to a mental health professional.

She added that there were no arrests made or charges filed regarding Richard’s kind acts, noting that there were no criminal acts committed.

Wright’s family claims the generous man is being treated “unfairly” both by the police and the hospital.

Richard’s daughter, Chelsey Wright gave details on Facebook on how her father is being unjustly held for doing good for the community. She gave the following details regarding Richard’s condition in the hospital:

“[Richard Wright] was stripped of all his belongings an [sic] locked in a small concrete room with a tiny window and a camera inside. He was left there for 8 hours with only 2 pieces of white bread to eat, and he was forced against his will to swallow 2 small white pills. The people there would not tell him what medication he was taking. When he asked the guard if he could use the phone he was ignored and because frustrated because he was worried about Ashley and I, since he is our soul provider. The workers there did not care whatsoever about me or Ashley, we could have been home with no heat/food but they didn’t care. They would not let him contact us. My dad was also worried about the cats going without food, an [sic] the pipes freeing once he was informed that he would be detained for 3 days. At this point he was told to sit down and shut up or he would get a needle.”

On the social media site, a group called #OpFreeRichardWright is gaining hundreds of fans by the hour, all demanding for the release of Richard Wright from the hospital.

One moderator of the group claims that Wright has been in psychiatric detention for five days already.

Many of them are outraged by the unreasonable treatment the hospital and police are giving Wright, a man they say is a generous person who was just doing the world a favor by giving money to those who needed them.

Wright, who was first reported as a “mystery man”, set the Halifax community abuzz due to his generosity to the people he has given money to. Some of the people who received money said that together with the 50 or 100 dollar bill Wright gave were words of kindness and encouragement.

Many of the people who received money from Wright have come out in support for the detained man. Jennifer Corbet, a woman who claims to have received $150 from Richard, says that the comforting words Wright told her had more impact than the money itself.

Was it right for the mental hospital to detain Richard Wright for being generous?

[Image from #OpFreeRichardWright page]