MOBILITY

USAF photo illUStrAtion by A1C zAChAry CACiCiA
“I took pills,” the man slurs again. “I
took all the pills. And I want you to
listen to me die.” Blake is removed,
objective, and sympathetic—exactly
as she was trained to be to offer the
most help.
She signals her supervisor to call the
police while Blake keeps the man
talking. “Where are you? What kind
of pills did you take?”
When You Hurt:
A Military Crisis Line Worker Shares Her Experience
By MS. AMANDA CAMPBELL,
Staff Writer
Blake sips her coffee and places
it on her desk. She pushes her
hair behind her ear, affixes her
headset, and waits for a ring.
For many people, suicide is a hotbutton
issue, a huge taboo, and
often a frightening subject. Military
Crisis Line workers are trained to
understand suicide. They reach for
the part of a person that wants to
live, but they don’t ignore the part
of them that wants to die. They must
honor the pain a person in crisis feels
and understand that no one is born
with an urge to self-destruct. People
in crisis need to know that crisis
workers aren’t going to freak out or
judge them—they simply provide a
safe place to talk.
Ring ring.
Blake wastes no time on blather.
“Thank you for calling. I’m happy
to speak with you, but first, I need
to ask if you’re suicidal.” Her
training controls the tone of her
voice: soothing, matter-of-fact,
authoritative, and non-judgmental.
“Yes,” a man’s voice slurs on the other
end of the line. Blake straightens as
she performs a quick assessment of
the man’s circumstance.
She asks him, “Have you harmed
yourself? Do you have a plan? Do
you have a gun or pills?” She knows
that since this man has called the
Military Crisis Line, a part of him
clings to life, and she must appeal
to that. Few people who call the
hotline have already taken lethal
measures. But if he has, Blake must
seek help immediately.
“Pain pills,” he replies. “Don’t—
don’t bother trying to find me. I
blocked this number before I called.
I just want you to listen.” Most of the
time, callers disclose their location,
but police can “ping” cell phones
and get an approximate position.
In 10 years at the Crisis Line, Blake
never dealt with a live completed
suicide and only heard of one suicide
being completed after a call.
According to the American
Association of Suicidology, suicidal
people are only suicidal for the
moment. The majority of calls the
Crisis Line gets are exactly that—a
crisis—and nobody is immune.
Blake has taken calls from men
and women, active duty military
and veterans, and from dependent
children to seniors.
Many people believe asking
someone if he is suicidal will plant
an idea into his head or that he’ll lie
to you. It’s not true. Crisis workers
are trained to ask frankly, in a caring
way and with enthusiasm, about
helping a person stay alive. They
deal with a person’s level of crisis on
a case-by-case basis and tailor their
responses, their tone, and their help
to each individual’s needs.
28
The Mobility Forum