National Suicide Prevention Day

by Jack Brummet

Today is National Suicide Prevention Day.  

Following the 2016 election, The Crisis Clinic has experienced a serious and concerning drop off of both volunteers and donations. We've confirmed with other groups that people now tend to direct much of their energy and money to political, social justice, and legal organizations. That's good, but don't forget about the great work the first responders at the crisis line perform for people living on the edge. 

If you've ever thought about donating or volunteering, now is the time! If you are interested or have questions, message me, or go directly to our website: https://crisisclinic.org/

If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also text HELLO to 741-741 for free, 24-hour support from the Crisis Text Line. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.

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The Slender Thread movie with Anne Bancroft and Sidney Poitier

By Jack Brummet

We have an annual screening of the film The Slender Thread at the Crisis Clinic, and I finally made it for the showing tonight. It is a pretty amazing movie on a topic (suicide) that was not really talked about in the 60s. Or the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, and even now. Anne Bancroft, Telly Savalas (and his brother George), Sidney Poitier, and Ed Asher are the lead actors. Bancroft and Poitier—the suicidal woman and the phone worker—are the focal points of the story. A lot of it is outdated and nothing like how we work now, but it is still fascinating and touching if you have ever done this kind of work. The movie, directed by Sydney Pollack, was based on the Seattle Crisis Clinic, which was one of the first hotlines in the country.

I worked on a crisis line in 1971-72, and the movie is pretty realistic about that era. We were flying by the seat of our pants, without a lot of professional help from shrinks/MSWs, etc. When I returned to this work a couple years ago, it was much more buttoned-down and professional (and effective). When I was on the Kent crisis line, we had four hours of training provided by the Seattle Crisis Clinic (where I work now): two hours on active listening and communications skills and two hours on suicide work. The next time around, it was 80 hours of training, with four days of in-service training each year, and continual ad hoc feedback on your work.

As corny as it was at times, the movie was moving. They got a lot of it right, which, for Hollywood, is pretty good. It's an almost noir looking black and white movie with footage (including aerial) of 1960's Seattle. Another reason this really hit home was that the woman committing suicide lived a few blocks from us in Ballard, and a lot of key moments occurred at Golden Gardens, just down the hill from my house.

I don't know if it is available streaming, but the DVD is for sale on Amazon.

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Fifty years of the Crisis Clinic (video)

A nice video about the Crisis Clinic, where I work two days a week.  Check it out, and if you can, donate. . .or volunteer.  /jack

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Drawing 1509 - for the crisis clinic phone room art wall

By Jack Brummet

I volunteer twice a week on the phones at the Crisis Clinic, and sometimes get a little drawing done between or even during calls.  I drew this 8"x10" pine board on my shift this morning. My co-worker appropriated it for the phone room art wall.

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Seattle, suicide hotspot?

Seattle myth: Seattle has the highest suicide rate in the U.S. 

Not true. This high suicide rate is commonly blamed on the rain, and S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder), as well as serotonin deficiencies--caused by lack of sunlight--that lead to depression. In fact, Seattle falls in the bottom half of the top 50 cities. On the other hand, the Aurora Bridge is the second most popular place to commit suicide in the U.S. (behind the Golden Gate Bridge). 

The top cities for suicide per capita (including many sunny and warm places):

1 Las Vegas, NV
2 Colorado Springs, CO
3 Tucson, AZ
4 Sacramento, CA
5 Albuquerque, NM
6 Mesa, AZ
7 Miami, FL
8 Denver, CO
9 Jacksonville, FL
10 Pittsburgh, PA
10 Wichita, KS
12 Portland, OR
13 Fresno, CA
14 Phoenix, AZ
15 Tulsa, OK
16 Milwaukee, WI
17 Oklahoma City, OK
18 Atlanta, GA
19 Austin, TX
20 Cincinnati, OH
21 Charlotte, NC
22 St. Louis, MO
23 Indianapolis, IN
24 Louisville/Jefferson Co., KY
24 Virginia Beach,VA
26 Nashville-Davidson,TN
27 Cleveland, OH
28 Seattle, WA
29 Kansas City, MO
30 Houston, TX
31 San Francisco, CA
32 Fort Worth, TX
32 Honolulu, HI
34 Columbus, OH
35 Philadelphia, PA
36 Omaha, NB
37 San Diego, CA
38 Dallas, TX
39 San Antonio, TX
40 Arlington, TX
41 Long Beach, CA
42 San Jose, CA
43 New Orleans, LA
44 Minneapolis, MN
45 Memphis,TN
46 Oakland, CA
47 El Paso, TX
48 Los Angeles, CA
49 Chicago, IL
50 Detroit, MI
51 New York City, NY
52 Baltimore, MD
52 Washington, DC
54 Boston, MA

[source city-data.com]

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National Suicide Prevention Week, Day Three

If you see something, say something.  It's never wrong to check.

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National Suicide Prevention Week, September 7-14th

The Crisis Clinic

By Jack Brummet

I graduated from The Crisis Clinic's three week training this weekend [1]. This was harder than any class I took in college, and it feels great. I work my first shift this week.

[1] "Crisis Clinic offers telephone-based crisis intervention and information and referrals to community services for youth and adults in Seattle-King County, WA. We offer emotional support to those in crisis or considering suicide through our 24-Hour Crisis Line. For youth we offer Teen Link, a teen answered help line. King County 2-1-1 offers information and referrals to community services based on our database of more than 5,000 services. The Washington Recovery Help Line is a state wide service offering emotional support and linkage to substance abuse, problem gambling and mental health services to anyone in Washington State. Our Washington Warm Line is a peer-answered help line for people living with mental illness."

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