Everyone knows that if you have an emergency like a fire, car accident, break-in, etc, you call 9-1-1, but a lot of people aren't aware that if you are worried that someone is in imminent danger, you can call 9-1-1 and ask the police to do a wellness check on an individual. If you have a friend that you are worried could harm themselves, could be an immediate threat to others, or could be in immediate danger from another individual, you can call 9-1-1 and tell them the situation and they will send the police to do a wellness check. Keep in mind, this is for emergencies and immediate threats only. Be aware that if you go this route, the police WILL find a way in to the house to see if that person is okay. If you don't believe me, I still have evidence of where the police busted down my front door to get to me during my suicide attempt.
There are also a non-emergency numbers that you can call if you want to contact the police but it is not an immediate threat. For example, if you have a grandparent or elderly relative that you cannot reach and you live far away, you can call the non-emergency line and the police will go out to check on this person. In this kind of situation, the police probably will not bust down a door, but they'll do their best to get into the house and check on the well-being of the person you called about. Here is an article that I found written by someone who was a 9-1-1 dispatcher talking about various types of calls they received and when you should or should not use the main 9-1-1 number. Also, an article I read said that you should be able to find the non emergency phone number for the police on your municipality's website. For example, I live in Manheim Township and I found this page on their website with phone numbers to call.
It may seem stupid to write a blog post about when you should or shouldn't call 9-1-1, but honestly, some people don't think about it right away, and I have an example of it from this weekend.
Friday night I was in bed reading around 11:00 and I got a frantic text from my sister. A girl she knows has been having a really rough time lately with her mental and physical health, she is trying to find a job and was about to be kicked out of the place she lives. She texted my sister and thanked her for her friendship and everything that she did for her. What stood out to me when I read the screen shot of the text was it said "you WERE a good friend to me" (emphasis added). My sister immediately tried calling this friend but it went straight to voicemail. She tried texting and tried to use Facebook messenger but her friend had just deactivated her Facebook. She was frantic and didn't know what to do. I told her to call 9-1-1 and ask the police to do a wellness check. Luckily, my sister had the address of where this friend was staying, or else calling the police wouldn't have helped.
I ended up calling 9-1-1 since my sister was at work (she's a nurse) and the dispatcher was very kind and helpful and said he would send the police immediately. Did we know with absolute certainty that this friend was going to harm herself? No. But most of you know your friends and family well enough to know their history, what is going on in their life and their mental state, so you have to use your best judgement. After I got off the phone, I just started to cry; it immediately brought back so many different emotions for me. I also got out of bed and started to pray; I knew there wasn't anything else I could do at this point and the situation was in the Lord's hands.
A little bit later, I got another text from my sister with a screen shot from her friend. The police came and in her text she said "they stopped me" so it seems that we were correct to think that she had intended to harm herself. Things have not magically turned around for her since then, but she has found a friend to stay with temporarily and is finding a place that she can live and keep her dogs while she is searching for a job.
I tell you this story so that you know that sometimes even if you feel like there is nothing that you can do, you are able to pick up your phone and call the police. We could have been wrong, but I would rather call 9-1-1 and have it be a false alarm than not call and later live with that regret. I think most of you would feel the same way too 💕
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