I want to share what my daughter posted on her FB page She is really taking it hard about her DH cousin's suicide...
This week has been National Suicide Prevention Week.
For 10 years, I was the director of United Way 2-1-1. It's an information and referral line that helps people find resources for a variety of health and human services needs (food, financial assistance, crisis intervention, domestic violence, holiday assistance, etc). All calls to 2-1-1 a free and confidential. During my ten years, I've answered thousands of calls. Some funny, some heartbreaking and some calls, never leave me, like the one below (info has been changed to protect callers identity).
One day, I answered the phones and a woman started talking about everything going on with her life and she had made the decision to die by suicide. As we are talking, she explains everything she has done to make the death easier for her family- funeral already planned and paid for, checking savings accounts closed and money on the table, pets were given away to new homes, her daughters were with their dad (she didn't want them to find her), ect. She had thought of everything and prepared for it.
I knew I had to find something to keep her alive. I asked her how she planned on dying. She said she was going to hang herself. She had enough rope and had already picked the location to do it. She then mentioned she went to the library and checked out some books about suicide and how to tie knots.
I asked her where the library books were. She said on the table. My reply was, if you die, who is going to return your library books? I can't imagine your family is going to be concerned about returning the books while they are dealing with the grief and shock of you dying. I'm certain you don't want them to have to deal with late fees. Silence.
She started crying and said I didn't think of that. Then she said, I don't want to die. Please help me.
I dialed 9-1-1 and then did a three way phone call with them. The 9-1-1 dispatcher and I stayed on the phone till helped arrived at her house.