When thinking about suicide, people are often depressed and feel like there is no hope in life, that it would be easier to end their life than to face their problems tomorrow. Attempting or contemplating suicide is not pleasant, but a time of frustration and self-loathing. The last thing that someone who is considering suicide needs is to be thrown in a jail cell, left to deal with their problems in a small enclosed room, feeling like a criminal just for asking for some help.
That is the view that a group of Big Horn County people have when it comes to suicidal subjects. With a new program designed to save resources while giving suicidal people an alternative to the jail cell, local law enforcement, hospital personnel and counselors hope to provide a better way of helping and holding suicidal people during their desperate times of need.
The program involves the Lovell Police Department, North Big Horn Hospital and Big Horn Basin Counseling Services, all of which deal with suicidal people in their own way as cases arise. The new program, which is being implemented this week, employs a group of trained workers from the community to do one-on-one sit-ins with suicidal subjects until a professional counselor is available to assess the subject.
 Chief of Police Nick Lewis said the workers would reduce the workload put on the Lovell Police Department as well as the hospital. Prior to the program being in place, police officers and hospital employees shared the responsibilities of doing one-on-one holds with suicidal subjects.
Lewis said about 20 people are signed up as workers and have been through a four-hour training on what to do during a sit-in with a suicidal subject. The training consisted of portions from law enforcement, the hospital and Big Horn Basin Counseling Services and included such topics as confidentiality, observation, what to say during the one-on-one and de-escalation – verbally calming down a suicidal subject.
Lewis said workers will be called to do a one-on-one whenever the need arises, and if a worker is unable to work that given day, they can opt out of serving. With many workers on the list who seem enthusiastic about the program, there should be workers available, Lewis said. If not, an officer or hospital staffer could carry out the sit-in.
Before the one-on-one hold, suicidal subjects are first evaluated by an on-call emergency room professional at the hospital to assess if they are violent or pose a threat to the worker. In some cases, if the subject is violent, he or she could be sent to jail, Lewis said.
Workers will have radios to communicate with the LPD in the event that the suicidal subject leaves the room or becomes violent. Workers are told not to physically engage or restrain suicidal subjects, but to instead get out of their way and contact the LPD immediately to inform them of the situation while following the subject at a safe distance. That way, officers can intervene before a suicidal patient hurts themselves or someone else or actually carries out the suicide. The one-on-ones will be held in a room at the hospital near the nursing station.
Before the program’s inception, suicidal subjects could sit in jail for days, waiting for counseling professionals to become available. Other nearby counties have a zero-tolerance policy for suicidal subjects and send them to jail immediately, added EMT Scott Murphey.
A problem with sending suicidal subjects to jail is that it discourages people from seeking the help they need because of fear of being locked up, said Devin Armstrong of Big Horn Basin Counseling Services and a member of the Big Horn County Suicide Prevention Coalition. She said she hopes the one-on-one program encourages more people to seek professional help when they are having thoughts of suicide.
The group plans to have another training session this year if there is enough community interest as well as an annual training session every February. They hope to include a Spanish-speaking person and a deaf interpreter on their worker list to better serve the community.
The list of workers will be available to the South Big Horn Hospital, as well, and the group talked about expanding the program in the south end of the county eventually.
A $15 per hour wage is paid to the workers through the county attorney’s office and the cost is split equally three ways and invoiced at each of the three agencies involved. Armstrong said the cost to pay workers is less of a cost to taxpayers than the amount of money that would be spent to house suicidal subjects in jails or state hospitals.
Big Horn County leads the state in suicides per capita and the highest at-risk group is the 10-19 age group followed by the 20-29 age group, according to Debbie FrankoLane of Big Horn Basin Counseling Services.
The BHC Suicide Prevention Coalition has implemented the Gatekeeper program for teenagers for the past several years in Lovell and Greybull, and the group plans to expand the program to the other schools in the county this year, Armstrong said.
NBHH director of nursing Tina Toner and CEO Rick Schroeder said they are both enthusiastic about the project and the service and care it provides to the community. Shroeder said he is happy to be a part of the group that is taking proactive steps to try to save lives and reduce the number of suicides.
The group thanked the one-on-one workers for making the project possible. Lewis said that though the workers get paid, many seem more interested in helping the suicidal subjects rather than receiving a paycheck.
For more information or to sign up as a worker for the program, contact the Lovell Police Department at 548-2215.