Retired NYPD, 25 Years Sober... Here's What It's All About

Safe Call Now® Peer Advocate - Eddie Patterson

I grew up in Queens, New York, one of the five boroughs of NYC. My dad was a WWII vet that told me to take every civil service exam that was offered. After starting college I thought of joining the service which I was about to do when I got a call from the NYC Police Dept. I was sworn into the department in January 1982.  

 As I said I grew up right outside of the city so of course my first command was in uptown Manhattan, and to be honest I really wasn’t prepared for what I would see as a young twenty-something kid, and this is why I have so much respect for our veterans.  I learned fast that I would see people shot, stabbed, a thirteen year old girl jump to her death and of course September 11^th. 

During these many years I also lost close friends, very close friends to suicide. One other important fact I left out was that during these years I would drink to forget what I witnessed. 

Jump a head years later and I realized I wanted to give back to the men and women that are still out there: cops, firemen, corrections officers, and our dispatchers. I began to volunteer at a local organization for NYPD cops and became involved with a local crisis center on their Suicide Hotline.

When I was introduced to Sean Riley I knew that I wanted to be part of this organization.  When Sean tells me I’m “on the phones” I know that going forward I may get a call from anywhere in the country, any agency, and at any time of the day or night. The call may be from a first responder that just wants to talk a bit, or maybe from someone that is having a hard time with substance abuse. I’ll be honest I feel comfortable handling anything that comes my way.  There is always the chance that you will get the call from a first responder that feels this is his or her last call, the call that if you can’t convince them that their life is worth living well then that may very well be their last call. 

I recently had a call from a retired LEO that was going through some hard times, mostly PTSD for many years. He was a real nice guy that about three or four minutes into the call I asked him if he was thinking of talking his life. His answer was simple and to the point, “Ed I’ve thought of it many times before but never more than today.”  We talked about the positives in his life and how much his grandkids mean to him.  After about thirty minutes he told me he felt better and was going home to his family.  Calls like that are what any first responder will get with Safe Call Now®.  The guys and gals that volunteer on the phones get what the responder is going through. 

It doesn’t matter where you work or what department or agency, make the call if you need to talk. 206-459-3020