Oxford police respond to increased calls for suicidal thoughts; when to call in wellness checks for loved ones
Oxford police responded to more calls to assist people struggling with suicidal thoughts than normal in late July and early August. While the increase was just an anomaly, an expert says it's important to check in on friends.
Between July 21 and Aug. 9, the Oxford Police Department (OPD) responded to six calls for assistance related to suicidal individuals. Two of the calls were for juveniles having suicidal thoughts.
All six of the individuals were transported to hospitals, according to weekly media reports from OPD. The department has only responded to two other calls related to self-harm and suicidal thoughts this summer, both in June, according to prior media reports.
Both OPD officials and mental health professionals said the increased calls indicate an anomaly, not a trend. Still, it’s important to understand how mental health calls are handled and when it may be time to ask professionals to see how your friends are doing.
How OPD responds to mental health calls
When officers respond to calls for people at risk of self-harm, Lieutenant Lara Fening said they’re trained to ask specific questions to gather information in case the individual shares different information at the hospital. The response also differs for Miami University students, who the department can connect with internal resources like the student counseling service.
“Sometimes it seems like on any given day, it’s like 20% of our calls are mental health calls,” Fening said. “And then you go a few days without any.”
Ashlea Sleiman, OPD’s social services liaison, said she typically follows up with hospital patients to work out their aftercare plans once they get released from their holding. Sleiman’s work often also includes working with people to make sure that they get to the hospital best suited to their needs and insurance status.
Most of the time, Sleiman said calls for suicidal individuals come from concerned friends and family members, not the individuals themselves.
“It’s more talked about now,” Sleiman said. “Even famous people, they’ll talk about their struggles with mental health issues, and I think people look at that and think, ‘Oh, OK.’ It’s just more accepted, too.”
Fening has also noticed an increased willingness of people to ask for help during her three decades in law enforcement.
“There’s definitely an increase [in mental health calls] in my career,” Fening said. “We’ve always done welfare checks … that has ramped up I think because people seem to be more expressive about their troubles, more open about it.”
When it's time to check in on your friends
Dr. Kip Alishio was the director of Miami’s student counseling service for more than 20 years and is now the coordinator of the Coalition for a Healthy Community’s mental health work group. The primary goal of the group, which brings together stakeholders from Talawanda, Miami and the broader community, is to increase access to mental health resources and further reduce the stigma around seeking treatment, Dr. Alishio said.
For people concerned about their friends or loved ones, Dr. Alishio said the best way to approach them is to respectfully and sensitively ask how they’re doing and be prepared to listen.
“Ask them to elaborate a little bit about that, how they’re doing, et cetera,” Dr. Alishio said. “When you feel like you’re at your limit with regards to your ability to sort of empathically understand, we’d suggest people refer them to their physician, to a mental health provider, to anybody that’s more professionally trained and able to take it from there.”
Dr. Alishio said it’s a common fear among people that asking a potentially suicidal person whether they’re thinking of harming themselves could put the thought into their head. Really, the opposite is true, Dr. Alishio said, and approaching conversations about mental health honestly can have a positive impact.
“If I’m actually thinking about suicide … and somebody that I know asks me, ‘How are you doing? Are you thinking about harming yourself? It immediately sort of helps me feel a bit of relief and a little bit of connection,” Dr. Alishio said. “... The first thing to do is to actually take a risk, reach out and express concern and ask somebody how they’re doing.”
For people who aren’t sure whether their friends or family members might need a wellness check Dr. Alishio said it’s still important to express your concerns first. If you get the sense based on your conversation that the person has gone beyond ideation and has thought through specific details about harming themselves, Dr. Alishio said, it’s time to call for a wellness check. It might also be necessary to call if you haven’t seen your friend for a while and aren’t getting any answers from them, he added.
Oxford will hold its annual Out of Darkness suicide prevention walk on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m. in the Uptown parks. The walk, hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, aims to raise awareness and funding for services to support those affected by suicide.
