Thoughts from Chief Sjolander…
More than a number…
While I try to keep my thoughts on our page upbeat, today’s thoughts will show my frustration with public safety and the medical field in regards to mental health.
As I’m sure most of you know, those of us working in every aspect of public safety and the medical field are seeing increases in mental health calls for service, and to be quite honest, they are very frustrating calls for us as I’m sure they are for the people we are trying to assist, their family, their friends, their neighbors, the list goes on and on…
Here are a couple of examples that we have seen lately.
A person in need of services was taken by us to a medical facility because they requested to go, and it was obvious that they were in need of services. Once there, our staff visited with the medical team and advise them of our concerns and that this is not how this person normally behaves. We were told that the psych doctor would not visit with this person as they had admitted to using an illegal substance within the past 24 hours. Here’s my thought on that… Are you kidding me? A lot of people we have contact with have used illegal substances within 24 hours and if you ask, they openly admit to using legal and illegal substances to help calm down, stop the racing thoughts, stop the voices, etc.
No medical or law enforcement hold was placed on this person and they were free to leave a few hours later…
Another person was taken by us to a different medical facility and they also were in need of services. We again updated the medical staff about our concerns and this time we placed a 72 hour hold as we didn’t want them to leave before getting to speak to someone who specializes in mental health, maybe get some medication, and formulate a plan.
They were released within hours, despite us having a hold in place…
Now this post is not to point fingers as mental health calls are complicated, take a lot of time, and are a team effort. The purpose of this post is to hopefully shed some light on this important topic and to remind us all that these are real people with real needs who want to be well and whether they know it or not, they need us. They need us to listen, and to advocate for them.
They are not case numbers, patient numbers, or statistics. They are family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.
Mental illness comes in many forms and not everyone will need police intervention, but I’ve said for years that we do not do enough for those living with mental illness who are in crisis and it’s time to change that.
Stay safe,
Lee
This post was originally published on February 16, 2017 on Kenyon Police Department’s Facebook page.
