Shane Christensen first experienced a family member's mental health crisis when his older brother became withdrawn and isolated in the early 1970s. This sudden personality change followed years of violence and instability in the household due to parental alcoholism.
His brother Eric eventually committed suicide in 1991 after suffering with a debilitating and undiagnosed mental illness for nearly twenty years.
Just over ten years later, Shane's middle child began to show symptoms of a psychotic break when he was seventeen years old. Due to his experience with his older brother, Shane was determined to do everything in his power to ensure his son received medical assistance for his condition. The unfortunate reality was that this goal would take years of tremendous struggle and anguish, and impacted the entire family profoundly.
His son John was eventually diagnosed as having Schizophrenia, and achieved a sustained stability with the support of Ontario Shores and his family.