I am so grateful to be able to share this true story with everyone. One of the blessings of the Holy-days is having the opportunity to see family and friends you may have lost touch with for some reason or another.
Well, I ran into a family member over the Holy-days and as we chit-chatted about our lives since last we saw each other, the subject of mental illness came up. Smile. It was totally not on my part because I really do try to not wear people out with this topic, but when God takes over, well....
Anyway, this conversation unfolded in the most awkward way when this person began telling me what he was up to these days. He said the old cliche, 'hanging in there." and we talked about everything under the sun and then he revealed to me that he needed to prepare for his ride back to the Center.
As the details came out, apparently almost two weeks ago, "Jerry" came close to ending his own life. Now, Jerry (not his real name) had it all. He was married to a woman who looked like a model, they had three kids, a two-car garage home and both had very, very good-paying jobs. They even had a horse that was kept a stable somewhere in the boondocks.
Anyway, Jerry told me about losing his job six months ago and his wife leaving him and the ultimate foreclosure on their property. He became devastated and very, very depressed. He began sipping Vodka to chase the blues and he stated he just could not "keep his feet on the ground" between passing out anywhere and then struggling with depression in the backroom of a friends basement most days.
Jerry told me it got too unbearable and he could not shake the thought of suicide. He explained to me how every thing he looked at became a potential vehicle for him to end his life. It scared him. He then explained how the impending Holy-days made it very real for him to "quit" life rather than further disappoint his children with no funds for Christmas. He did not even have life insurance anymore because he could not afford it.
Jerry went on to tell me that he figured he would steal his friend's car in the middle of the night and drive as far away as he could and take his life. He prepared the vehicle for which he chose to end his life with. He paced and waited for his friend to go to sleep. He wrote a note to his estranged wife and then he made up his bed and cleaned off the dresser. Jerry told me he did not know why he even bothered with those details since he did not care about what he was leaving behind, but he then told me that when he moved some papers off the dresser into a drawer, one of the pamphlets fell to the floor.
Honestly, this is what Jerry told me. He had been to a homeless shelter and attended a few Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He kept some of the literature even though he stopped attending. Well, one of the pamphlets that fell to the floor was from an organization: First Call For Help.
As Jerry told me his story, I just shook my head slowly in amazement. You see, Jerry said he called the 1-800-492-0618 number and just told the dispatcher he was about to end his life. He said he just felt better letting somebody know. The dispatcher kept him on the phone talking while dispatching a rescue team to his address. Much to his surprise, when he finally answered the door, there was a nurse and a support person with her.
These people gave him an on-the-spot evaluation and then arranged for him to go immediately to a Crisis Center. These people helped him to pack a few things and drove him to the Crisis Center! There, he was "admitted and more thoroughly evaluated and started on anti-depressants immediately."
Jerry told me that in the morning after his first nutritional breakfast in ages, he was whisked off to therapy and attended such 45-minute therapies throughout the day and two after dinner in the evening. As his mood stabilized, the therapies and treatments became less critical. On Monday, he will be discharged to a pre-arranged halfway house for a 30-day stay for alcholism.
I was truly grateful to Jerry for sharing his story and he gave me permission to share it with you all. Jerry wanted to be sure I passed on his message that First Call For Help saved his life and he cries when he thinks about how they came out of nowhere and saved a nobody. While Jerry has not seen his children yet (his choice until he is stronger), he says that he is so thankful he did not go through with his plans realizing the affects it would have had on his children. He is very much looking forward to alcohol treatment and he believes a new life awaits him beyond treatment that he could not imagine just weeks ago. He was thankful to see family and he was humbled to be invited to his brother's family dinner despite his situation.
I had to share this story and to raise awareness that First Call For Help is a rescue system with trained professionals for suicide prevention and a host of other services.
What services does First Call For Help provide?
They are an organization operated by the United Way of Central Maryland and anyone can use their services. FCFH provides a 24-hour confidential information and referral service using a computerized resource file to access all types of health and human services information on topics including alcoholism, child abuse, domestic crisis, legal and medical matters, runaways, suicide prevention, support groups, teen pregnancy, and youth services. FCFH will interview with caller including problem assessment and brief counseling when needed. Please add them to your contact list:
First Call For Help 1-800-492-0618
In Maryland - 410-685-0525
TTY - 410-685-2159
HAPPY KWANZAA AND NEW YEAR everybody and I will see y'all next week...
Agnes B. Levine
Author of: "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman" ISBN 0975461206 Winter 2009 Release Pending
www.myspace.com/coolingwellwater (Subscribe Now)
Founder/President: Levine-Oliver Publisher, the Exclusive publishing home of Swaggie Coleman. Support Swaggie's Voice© at:
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Posted By: agnes levine
Saturday, December 27th 2008 at 8:14PM
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