Blog posts with the tag "Suicide"

Since 1968 Americans have known to call 911 during emergencies to activate either the police, fire department, or emergency medical response. When my own house caught fire in late 2019, as I ran to find a garden hose in the dark, I yelled to my then 15 year old son, “call 911.” It’s a phrase so ingrained in our American psyche that we instinctively know to activate that response in our times of panic, fear, and need. But each year millions of 911 calls are made due to issues related to emotional distress or mental health problems for which police, fire, rescue, and EMS services are not always the optimal responders.