Larlotte's Opinion Column
After the almost-suicide at the Lighthouse, one can't help but wonder: are we doing enough to help the victims of crime in AP?
This week saw an attempted suicide by a victim of multiple crimes here in Asphyxiation Point. Although the unfortunate incident was resolved positively, it has made me wonder about the mental health of the victims harmed by our high crime rate. The Women's Shelter, having closed recently, no longer provides a much needed service for the women of our community. Although the service was invaluable, what about our men? Our officers? Our medics?
The crime rate in town is high. In October alone, we had 9 new criminal cases, of which a third involved sexual assault, and another third involved robbery. Of those robbery cases, 2 involved assault, including the aggravated assault of a police officer.
In the same month, 6 arrests were made. Personally, I feel this is a good figure based on the high crime rate. Our officers are working very hard to ensure justice is served, and I for one believe they are doing a great job.
However, what emotional and mental support are our service employees getting? Our police and medical staff work around the clock to provide the services we need, while experiencing abuse in the line of duty. They provide an invaluable service to the town, but they are only human. They need this support too.
In the US, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death. 64% of people who attempt to commit suicide visit their doctor in the month before, whereas 38% visit their doctor in the week before.* Perhaps, if we had a dedicated mental health team, we could not only prevent suicides or attempted suicides, but also combat depression, stress, and possibly even crime rate.
The point here is not to bash the services we have. On the contrary, I praise those men and women that work so hard to help keep our town safe and our residents healthy. The point is that we do have victims of crime. Whether they are in the services or not, who is helping these people?
I, for one, believe someone should be.
*Statistics from www.mentalhealthamerica.net/suicide November 11th, 2016.
After the almost-suicide at the Lighthouse, one can't help but wonder: are we doing enough to help the victims of crime in AP?
This week saw an attempted suicide by a victim of multiple crimes here in Asphyxiation Point. Although the unfortunate incident was resolved positively, it has made me wonder about the mental health of the victims harmed by our high crime rate. The Women's Shelter, having closed recently, no longer provides a much needed service for the women of our community. Although the service was invaluable, what about our men? Our officers? Our medics?
The crime rate in town is high. In October alone, we had 9 new criminal cases, of which a third involved sexual assault, and another third involved robbery. Of those robbery cases, 2 involved assault, including the aggravated assault of a police officer.
In the same month, 6 arrests were made. Personally, I feel this is a good figure based on the high crime rate. Our officers are working very hard to ensure justice is served, and I for one believe they are doing a great job.
However, what emotional and mental support are our service employees getting? Our police and medical staff work around the clock to provide the services we need, while experiencing abuse in the line of duty. They provide an invaluable service to the town, but they are only human. They need this support too.
In the US, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death. 64% of people who attempt to commit suicide visit their doctor in the month before, whereas 38% visit their doctor in the week before.* Perhaps, if we had a dedicated mental health team, we could not only prevent suicides or attempted suicides, but also combat depression, stress, and possibly even crime rate.
The point here is not to bash the services we have. On the contrary, I praise those men and women that work so hard to help keep our town safe and our residents healthy. The point is that we do have victims of crime. Whether they are in the services or not, who is helping these people?
I, for one, believe someone should be.
*Statistics from www.mentalhealthamerica.net/suicide November 11th, 2016.
RSS Feed
