Early Intervention... Crisis & Suicide Prevention

By Safe Call Now Director of Curriculum & Training - Captain Brian Nanavaty

Early Intervention... Crisis and Suicide Prevention

For over one hundred years of policing and one hundred fifty years of firefighting in the US, public safety agencies have lost more officers and firefighters to suicide than to felons and fires. 

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, yet thousands of first responders wrestle daily with crisis and thoughts of self-harm unabated. What are employers, administrators, employees, peers and unions doing proactively to change the paradigm of first responder crisis? 

Is there training available that teaches how to recognize early indicators of potential employee distress and how to sow the seeds of long term health rather than waiting for crisis? 

Safe Call Now recognizes the need for a condensed version of full day trainings on crisis topics. Using the lessons learned from the award winning Indianapolis Model, Safe Call Now now offers a 2 hour Early Intervention, Crisis and Suicide Prevention presentation designed specifically for conferences and agency re-trainers. 

For information contact Captain Brian Nanavaty, Director of Training and Curriculum at BN@safecallnow.org or 317-339-5118.

#1stresponders... How Do You Stage an Intervention???

Safe Call Now® Interventionist - Ken Seeley

If you have a friend or family member who is suffering from addiction, chances are you have considered staging an intervention. It is incredibly devastating to watch a loved one struggle with addiction. They may often claim to quit, only to use again. Their moods may shift dramatically, and they may lash out and become unstable at even the mention of the thought of help. If an addict has reached this serious and severe stage of addiction, the important people in his or her life may have no choice but to stage an intervention.

Staging an intervention is a last ditch effort to appeal to an addict’s desire to get clean. No one but an addict can decide to get healthy, but communicating with the addict in as clear and serious of a fashion possible may be the impetus for the addict to finally come to terms with the severity of their addiction. While an intervention can be a very useful tool in convincing an addict to get help, staging the intervention is an extremely challenging process. Confronting an addict may very well cause them to go on the defensive, and end in a fight that sends the addict further away from their loved ones. So, how does one stage an intervention? How can you get through to your loved one and have the highest probability of a success rate?

The Alcoholic #1stresponder & Interventions

Safe Call Now® Intervention Specialist - Ken Seeley

Living with an alcoholic or being close to one often means living in a spiral of despair, guilt, and anger. When a person is addicted to alcohol, they are not in control of their behavior and often act in a way that is dangerous for themselves and those around them. It is a common myth that alcoholics are just people who do not have good character, but the fact of the matter is that anyone can be the victim of addiction.

It has nothing to do with a person’s moral character. If a person is chemically addicted to behavior, they are not in control of their alcohol consumption. This can be hurtful and frustrating for those around the alcoholic, who may not understand why a person cannot quit drinking. They may feel guilt for not being able to do a better job of stopping an alcoholic from drinking, or harbor resentment towards the alcoholic for not being able to drink.