Further Depletion of the Mental Health Field in the United States
As told by yours truly, a mental health Qualified Professional and former Military Police
I understand both sides of the equation more than most police officers, more than most mental health workers, and definitely more than everyone who has never worked in both mental health and law enforcement.
Disclaimer: Graphic Videos in Post
The first call I had as law enforcement was a man who was having seizures. They called me first to check it out, then I had to call the ambulance — after I found out no one called the ambulance…
When I was in Korea, monitoring soldiers out in Korea, at the age of 20, a Korean walked up to me and said, “If I see you again, I’m going to kill you”. Then he walked off slowly down the street.
To learn more about my great Military Police career, read what I wrote to Company Diversity Trainers.
None of my mental health stories will be disclosed.
Firstly
Mental health takes specifically trained responders. Even the NY Post said in 2019 that EMS assaults have been up 36%!
My skills you cannot just obtain through any particular training. They are attained through experience, passion, diligence, intelligence, and intention.
Crises are on the rise. So will be phone calls for help.
The Difference
You can call mental health response teams if you don’t like how law enforcement practices their lawfully given discretion. Sandhills of Guilford County, North Carolina at (800) 256–2452 if you want mental health response.
Keep in mind, that by the time you finish answering questions that the mental health workers are commanded to ask you, it will be the next day before you actually see them.
Why? Easy. Read my first story about the depletion and cancellation of America’s mental health field.
The dilemma
With the rise of divorce, poverty, and broken homes, comes the rise of crime and mental health crises.
63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (U.S. Dept. Of Health/Census). What do you think about suicide-by-cop?
80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes. (Justice & Behavior, Vol. 14, p. 403–26)
85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes. (Fulton Co. Georgia, Texas Dept. of Correction)
Learn Before Speaking
From the HIGHLY respected, Heritage Foundation, “The Real Root Causes of Violent Crime: The Breakdown of Marriage, Family, and Community”.
It is important for people to cross-reference, research, and prepare, just like in any military operation, court defense, career development, and also in education. Why is this subject any different?
With that said, please take a gander at what officers see and what the officers you are calling are expecting when they arrive:
(Police Deputy stabbed in neck with no response time)
(woman stabbed at soon as she knocks on a door)
(old lady stabbed 9x with a screwdriver)
(no response time)
(you can’t train for this. News reporter, “I’ve watched that video twice. It’s unreal”)
(no response time)
(ambushed) (only video where a rifle was used)
(the day after this boy shot a pizza delivery driver, he robbed another pizza delivery driver and stole her car, phone, and money)
(screams after she is shot)
I can show you 100 more videos. This is what law enforcement are expecting when you call. They have the right to go home at night, just like everyone else. If you wanted a therapist, why did you call 911?
I understand, obviously given my background, that mental health is an issue, but you, me, or anyone else cannot mandate officers to let someone stab them for the sake of their mental condition. I’m sorry. We tried to integrate that individual, and the accident happened. That’s life. The caller chose to get the officer stabbed versus them handling the “non-violent” situation themselves.
Why did you call 911?
“Hey Google, call Mobile Crisis”
Problem solved. Except, how many “interventions” have proved useless? In my experience, it was my ability to build rapport that deescalated situations. Nothing else.
In my time in mental health I have seen more positive interventions by law enforcement than I have from mental health workers. A lot of your therapist have no life experience, but that officer has sat with a little boy who’s mother overdosed while he was in school. The officer watched as some freaking idiot therapist failed with explaining the situation to the boy without having built any rapport. You see, law enforcement are there during the fight, the therapist is not.
Who do you trust more?
The mental health workers who actually go to crises who are less paid than therapists and police officers, meaning they are underpaid, and they usually are overstressed themselves to the point of rather wanting to catch up on the 1 billion pages of reports mental health workers have to complete just to make pennies compared to you. Just 1 grammar error can cost a company staff funding.
You want me, a mental health qualified professional, to respond? Have you asked me my professional opinion or is your jaw just flapping? Why don’t you respond? Evidently you have better training than law enforcement since you have an opinion.
Again, I have been in both, mental health and law enforcement. If it were me, calling about someone abusing substances, you might not know if they mixed psychotic medication with alcohol and/or drugs. Especially after they just stabbed someone and you didn’t know they did. I would call 911. If I knew it was just mental health, I would either call EMS or mental health, then I would call NOT 911, but my local police station to inform them of my actions to see if they recommend sending a car out.
In Conclusion
- You call 911 because “that’s what people do when a crime is committed” when there is a mental health crisis in the United States.
- They respond — per department policy.
- They die because of your phone call. Or they spend 30 minutes talking with a man currently on cocaine, who’s family is begging him to “get off crack” and “go with the officers to get help”. Then before the officers know for a fact what substance he is on, a side effect of cocaine hits him when he is on the ground with the officers and his heart stops. Then everyone is mad at the officers. The police are not allowed to leave in this situation. Did you know that?
- And the general public blames the same people they called as if they know more information, when things look like war, because the general public has no idea how to respond themselves. You brush off responsibility. That’s called lack of education.
Don’t forget. When all hell breaks loose, law enforcement are not SWAT or military, but they do the best they can in a situation they are not likely going to survive. At least they were not the ones who called 911 and stood by and watched with a grading rubric when an officer enters into a war they did not have any response time or training for.
Don’t confuse your regular police officer with:
You only make yourself look like you have reasoning misfires. Have some respect for yourself.
To create a Special Forces soldier in any branch of the military costs between $600,000 — $2,000,000. The average American gets upset when their measly $400 tax return is late.
To Reiterate
Mental health crisis? Call mental health and they might be out in the next 4 hours
Call the Police: You get the police. You know, those people in the videos who walk up to a car and immediately get shot in the face and you expect them to make that choice time and time again just because you say so.
Not how it works.
Want better police? Teach men to stop using women as blowup dolls with independent movement abilities and vocal cords; and teach women to learn how the male brain works. Reinforce the family.
Until then. I don’t want to hear it. Go whine to your schools instead.
- Everything started at home
- Then transitioned to school and their community
- Then they met me, law enforcement. You can’t just skip to me when I am the third influence of their life. You were 1st, not me.
P.S.
If the off chance someone’s response is, “well, why can we not train law enforcement to be mental health responders?”
In the name “law enforcement”
If criminals act like they are having an mental health crisis, then law enforcement must respond differently, per law, that opens them up to die.
From my vantage point, having had my hands gripping a terrorist before, handle mental health yourself. Every good mother in history has been her family’s therapist. Time to get with the program.
I keep saying “therapists” ha-ha! Therapists are not going to be the ones responding when you call. It’s going to be less trained people. Therapists don’t work past 5, 6 — latest. You will always have someone responding is who is paid less than $35,000 a year.
That’s how much America appreciates us. You’re welcome.
If you believe you have no other choices in the United States, because my statement “The Depletion and Cancellation of the Mental Health Field in America” is true. It’s time for you to put on your CEO cap and get to work like the rest of us.