Oakland County Sheriff's Office pushes to raise mental health awareness
The Brief
Oakland County officials are hoping to push mental health awareness.
Deputies throughout the week responded to three scenes involving three different people who took their own lives.
The goal is to get help, call the hotline, call the police, or reach out to a trusted individual.
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - If you or a loved one is feeling distressed, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The crisis center provides free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to civilians and veterans. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255. Or text to 741-741
CLICK HERE https://afsp.org/about-suicide/risk-factors-and-warning-signs/ for the warning signs and risk factors of suicide. Call 1-800-273-TALK for free and confidential emotional support.
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The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is sounding the alarm for those struggling with mental health.
Local perspective
Three people took their own lives, all in the same small town. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard is spreading the word about mental health help.
"There are people that want to help you through that patch of whatever you're facing and dealing with," Bouchard said. "And you're not as alone or as isolated as you may feel."
What they're saying
Deputies throughout the week responded to three scenes involving three different people who took their own lives.
"Two were men, both over the age of 60, and one was a woman right around the age of 60," Bouchard said.
That was all in the Clarkston area, he says, and it all happened in one day.
"It just highlights the fact of how many people are feeling stresses of different things in life, and how many are suffering from mental health challenges and anxiety," he explained.
Big picture view
Bouchard says COVID magnified feelings of isolation and depression, and it hasn't gone away entirely, with him saying a third of their search and rescue calls in the past year have been related to just that.
Meanwhile, it's not always adults they're looking for.
"Lots of times, what we're seeing is even younger people, younger than high school, down into the grade school areas," he said. "We've gone out looking for 11-year-olds and 9-year-olds."
It impacts anyone and everyone, including law enforcement.
What you can do
So the goal is to get help, call the hotline, call the police, or reach out to a trusted individual.
"Sometimes we actually teach people that there are ways of saying it without saying it specifically," he said. "You can say 'Hey, do you have 8 minutes?' And that's kind of a code word for 'I need your help.'"
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