I'm Alive Because I Made One Phone Call...

By Kevin Hagen

You could say my story with my mental illness began several years ago (maybe 15?), but I chose to ignore the signs and figured it was just me. I was bullied in high school and that had an impact on my self-esteem as I was growing up and even in my adult years. I was married for 20 years and for most of those years I was told what a bad person I was and that I was not a very good man. After hearing such things for that long, I started to believe them! I have had tragedies in my life like most people, and some that affected me for many years, like the death of my mother. I believed that I was not worthy of being happy and that I was meant to just be that way so I should live with it. I managed to struggle through life like that for most of my adult life.

My job as a police officer added to the issues I already had. I have seen some very terrible things in my career, and some of them stick with me no matter how hard I tried to forget them. Because I chose to ignore my problems, they just got bigger and bigger: the 800 pound gorilla in the room, if you will. I managed to stuff my feelings and tell myself, “Hey, this is what I deserve, so I just gotta suck it up.” I ended up getting divorced, and I figured that was the answer to all of my problems. Obviously it was not. I went from bad relationship to bad relationship, always finding women that needed help; that way I could be the hero and fix things for them. It never worked that way. I just ended up taking on more and more problems, more and more debt, and finally I could not find happiness in anything, but I figured that is what I deserved.

I felt I had successfully stuffed my problems, but then all of the sudden, I was not ever happy. I lost interest in most things I enjoy; I ignored my children who I only see every other weekend; I pushed my friends away and just isolated myself in my home. 
One night everything came to a head. The hopelessness overwhelmed me. The nightmares came every night, so I was scared to go to sleep some nights. All I could see in front of me was a black wall, and in my mind it was all hopeless and I was lost.

I Didn't Get to Say "Goodbye"...

Kevin Murphy E.O.W. 10-05-2016

I write this with a very heavy heart as my best friend Kevin Murphy from the Henderson, NV Police Department took his own life on 10-05-2016.  One of those days where you'll remember for the rest of your life where you were.  I was in Phoenix presenting when I got the call and the news of his death literally brought me to my knees.  It hurt and hurt bad.  I even struggle with the word "suicide" because that's something that doesn't happen to my friends.  I deal with people in crisis everyday and for the first time I didn't know what to do and didn't realize I was about to go into crisis.  I'll talk more about that later but I want to tell you about my best friend.

Kevin was the Director of the Henderson PD PEAP Program (Police Employee Assistance Program) and he has been with Safe Call Now since inception as not only a Peer Advocate but also an Advisory Board Member.  Kevin and I hit it off the first time we met.  Not because we both help those in crisis but because we both had genuine interest in each others personal lives and how each others families were doing.  He's one of the few people that I could talk to about life and keep "work" out of the conversation.  What made Kevin so special was his humor, his smile and his genuine care about me and how I was doing.  At Kevin's funeral one thing that was said over and over is that you always felt "safe" when you were with Kevin.  You know what?  They were a 100% right.

Anytime I flew into Las Vegas I would always tell my wife that...  "I get to see Kev this week".  Kevin always picked me up at the airport and we would spend quality time together and share about "Life".  He also always told me that I should fold any dollar bills I had in my wallet in half and I would theoretically double my money while in Las Vegas.  Really???  I'm a drug addict in recovery, that's not going to happen.  He and I would laugh and laugh, you know those laughs that come deep from your belly.  I was honored to be asked to speak at his full police/military funeral and I just knew I would come up with something so eloquent which he deserved.  To be honest, I didn't know what I was going to say because I was struggling with my own emotions.

Police Suicide... A Life Saved

Safe Call Now

This is an email (with permission to use) that our partners at Code 3 Spices received after they put up a post on Facebook about Safe Call Now.  I like these kind of emails!!!

"My name is -------------. I am a 19 year police veteran from the state of _______. I wanted to thank you guys for doing what you do. You see, I have been through a lot of ups and downs and have seen a lot of horrible shit over the years of being a cop. Within the last year I got divorced, lost my house, Lost my mother and father, became depressed and I felt like everything was spinning out of control from there. 

Work was non-stop stress. I was involved in a situation that involved a horrible incident where 2 children were brutally murdered. I was the first one on scene. I went home that night, started drinking and thinking about all the horrible incidents I have been involved in and sat down at the kitchen table with my lap top, a pen and paper and my service weapon. 

Officer Survives Suicide Attempt... Contacts Safe Call Now

Safe Call Now & Shine the Light

OFFICER ATHLETE SURVIVES SUICIDE AND TURNS HIS STORY INTO A CAUSE
5k Run and Multi-Race event to raise awareness for mental health issues facing law enforcement.

Agent Doug Monda never saw it coming. In his 15-years as a police officer, SWAT cop, drug agent, lifelong athlete and adrenaline junkie, he was the last person to see what nearly cost him his life. In 2014 Monda was a trigger pull away from taking his own life. “I couldn’t escape the pain. I was so tired of being in pain, physically and mentally and no one could tell me anything or show me anything that could make it go away,” Monda said during a lengthy conversation about why he is now speaking out. “Ultimately, in my mind, at that point, the only way I could be pain free was to leave.” But fortunately for Monda his coworkers and close friends, including Chief Mike Cantaloupe, intervened through a program called Safe Call Now. “That’s what we did. We contacted them and these people from out of state across the country came out of nowhere to help me,” Monda added. 

“They’re there. You just have to ask for help. This is why I am speaking publicly. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I went through.”

Agent Monda now uses his athletic ability and passion for law enforcement to draw attention to the cause. His sponsor, MultiRace LLC, is helping him put on an inaugural 5K in Cocoa Village. The Shine the Light 5K is scheduled for Saturday May 21st at 7:30 p.m. The start and finish for the race will be at Riverfront Park in downtown Cocoa. According to Monda, police patrol vehicles will line portions of the course and select organizations representing mental wellness, suicide prevention, drug and alcohol abuse prevention and others will be set up in the park providing information. 

The following day, MultiRace will host the 2016 Tri Cocoa Village Sprint and Olympic Triathlon at the same location. “It’s all about awareness and knowing there is help available if you just ask for it,” Monda said. “I am so grateful for the people who helped save my life and I want others to see that if I can make it, they can too.”

For more information or to register for the events go to www.multirace.com.

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.

The Isolation of our Corrections Officers

By Dr. Olivia Johnson - Blue Wall Institute

The isolation of a job in corrections can leave many feeling out of sight and out of mind. And being out of sight and out of mind tends to allow certain things to go unaddressed. A general consensus I have noticed when talking with CO’s has been that they believe no one cares about their wellbeing and that workplace bullying and bad behavior is at an all time high. Just listening to these stories is enough to make you cry, but I have to ask: What is wrong with us that we have become so cold as to not care about a fellow officer? When did backstabbing, gossip, and all around bad behavior in the workplace become acceptable? Of course perception and reality may be two different things, but if so many CO’s are feeling this way, doesn’t that say something? If it doesn’t, it should.

Anyone accepting a position in corrections understands the threat of the criminal element, the idea that they could be injured or even killed by an inmate. That is reality. And no matter how sad this reality, what is often difficult for many CO’s to understand is how a co-worker, supervisor, or administrator could deliberately and sometimes, even with malice attack them verbally or mess with them just because they can. Sadly, many of these problematic individuals are able to continue this bad behavior without being addressed, disciplined, or terminated.  Call them what you want, but I call these individuals ‘workplace bullies.’

According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI, 2014) bullying by is “threatening, humiliating, or intimidating … work interference – sabotage which prevents work from getting done, or verbal abuse (p. 1). Even sadder than having to address workplace bullying, are the statistics WBI revealed. Twenty-seven percent of survey respondents indicated being victims of workplace bullying, either in the past or currently. Another 72 percent stated that they were aware of workplace bullying and sadly, bosses accounted for the highest number of workplace bullying incidents. Another 72 percent of “… employers deny, discount, encourage, rationalize, and defend it” (para. 2). A 2010 survey revealed some 13.7 million Americans said were currently being bullied at work, with the number around three times this for those bullied in the past (Riggio, 2011, as cited in Psychology Today). These numbers are alarming. If so many are victims and so many are aware of workplace bullying, what can be done to stop the bully and the bullying behavior before if affects workers, the organization, and the morale? 

Police Officer, Doctor... Safe Call Now® Board Member

Safe Call Now® Board Member - Dr. Marc Gonzalez Pharm. D.

At Safe Call Now® we always strive to bring you the best the world has to offer and with Dr. Marc Gonzalez on our Board of Directors, we have accomplished this mission.  As you will see from his bio, he is one of the most accomplished individuals I have ever met.  What sets him apart from the rest is his passion, dedication and professionalism to saving the lives of those who serve.  We're honored to have him as part of our organization.

Marc Gonzalez, Pharm.D, earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Southern California, School of Pharmacy. Dr. Gonzalez is the President of Pharmaceutical Diversion Consultants, LLC, providing training to military, law enforcement, and health care professionals. His consulting services also include  conducting compliance evaluations for all entities registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration, including doctors practicing in pain management; providing education and risk mitigation plans to bring pharmacies into compliance and fulfill their corresponding responsibilities; assisting in applying for Prescription Monitoring Programs; providing speakers from federal, state, regulatory, and local law enforcement; and providing assistance to wholesalers who  struggle to understand and initiate compliance programs under the DEA "Know Your Customer" wholesaler standards.

Dr. Gonzalez also provides expert testimony on all drug related matters from appropriate prescribing to drug facilitated sexual assault. He also serves as President of the California Chapter, National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, as well as a consultant for the Department of Defense. His responsibilities with the DoD include training and advising military and law enforcement, and participating in various projects requested from as high as the Office of the President. Dr. Gonzalez is currently the lead instructor for the Department of Defense’s Regional Counter Drug Training Academy at Naval Air Station Meridian. He has also trained at Midwest Counter Drug, and Western Counter Drug Training Academies at their resident military bases throughout the country. Dr. Gonzalez has conducted numerous trainings for military investigative services (NCIS, Army CID, OSI, CGIS, and USMC CID) throughout the World. Dr. Gonzalez is currently an instructor for the California Narcotic Officers’ Association and the International Chiefs’ of Police – Drug Recognition Experts. Dr. Gonzalez developed the original section on “Medical and Psychological Rule-outs” for the IACP-DRE. He is also part of the core course for DRE with the California Highway Patrol, Impaired Driver Unit’s “Pre-School,” and the Los Angeles Police Department’s “Re-Certification” DRE School. He has re-certified DRE’s throughout the country. Dr. Gonzalez is a contributing author and editor for training modules for the Coalition "End Violence Against Women."

Where does the #1stresponder's Child get Help???

From PR Web

Sometimes we focus so much on providing for the first responder when in crisis that all of us forget about the children of the first responders.  Today Safe Call Now® is honored to announce our partnership with New Beginnings Adolescent Recovery Center that has built a nationwide referral network for our children.  We only bring you the “gold standard” and with New Beginnings that’s what your children are getting!!!  Read more about our new partners.

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals and the premier global organization of addiction professionals, has recognized New Beginnings Adolescent Recovery Center located in Opelousas, Louisiana, as its 2015 Organizational Achievement Award winner for its high level of care, support and commitment to the addiction professionals on its staff and throughout the substance abuse treatment industry in America. Johnny Patout, CEO of New Beginnings, commented, “This is a great honor for our entire organization, our treatment and support staff, and mostly for the many teenagers and their families whom we are able to help break away from their substance abuse.” Under his leadership, New Beginnings has transformed from a struggling program in 2011 to one of the leading award-winning treatment centers in the country today.

NAADAC, in announcing New Beginnings as its 2015 award winner, stated that through the recruitment of qualified, Master’s-level therapists, nurses and physicians who are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care possible for their patients, New Beginnings has become a center of excellence for struggling teenagers from across the country. They added that New Beginnings’ highly experienced leadership team, many of whom are in recovery themselves, have offered their experience, training, knowledge and skills in treating substance abuse. In doing so, they have provided real hope for adolescents and their families.

New Beginnings offers medically monitored detox services, residential, partial hospitalization, intense outpatient and extended care programs for patients ages 13 to 18. Its programs are designed to help teenagers break the cycle of addiction while also helping families to understand their child’s addiction and recovery process.