Unified Police Departments Victim Assistance Program

1. Unified Police Departments Victim Assistance Program

2. UPD Victim Assistance Program’s Response to Suicide and Death Calls • Joint response with chaplains • Victim advocate volunteers • Emotional support and crisis intervention • Provide information, resources and referrals (i.e. working with mortuaries, medical examiner, clean-up, counseling)

3. Suicide Call Outs Traditional call outs immediate needs • Crisis intervention • Emotional support • Provide information, resources and referrals • Safety planning • Assess physical needs (i.e. food, blankets, clothing, gasoline, etc.)

4. Step 1 Assess: Immediate threats Listening: When a person in crisis tells their story, they can begin to draw on their cognitive skills, instead of emotional skills, which can help return them to a calmer, less reactive mental state.

5. Step 2 Determining Safety Remove from location where trauma took place Address physical needs: (hunger, thirst, cold) Waiting to clean themselves up after violent/traumatic event

6. Step 3 Providing Support Emotional support: vent and validation Process the crisis logically: Do what you can to help them understand what occurred and regain a sense of purpose. Caveat: if they do not agree with seeking counseling they must ad ovate for themselves.

7. Step 4 Developing new coping skills (long term strategy) May need someone who specializes in long term support (i.e. support groups, life coach, crisis counselor) Resilience: Take care of physical/emotional health Strengthen relationships Find meaning through spirituality of volunteering Try something new (i.e. dance classes, cooking classes, sports and fitness, cultural events) Practice problem solving

8. Step 5 Make a plan Rebuilding one’s life after trauma, having a plan is helpful Professional help or mentor Small steps towards positive changes.

9. Suicide Statistics

11. Facts Utah vs. Us More adults attempt suicide Every 13 hours a Utahan dies of suicide Ages 10-17 we rank 5th Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teens More females attempt but more males succeed

13. Contributing Factors

15. Teens Are Vulnerable • Youth suicides in Utah continue to increase • The rate of youth ages 10 to 17 dying by suicide in Utah has increased an average of 22.8 percent each year from 2011 to 2015. Nationally, the rate increased an average of 6 percent over the same time period. • 140-page report released Utah health officials the state’s suicide rate among young adults ages 10 to 17 had more than doubled from 2011 to 2015. 150 youths died by suicide over the five-year period. • Youth ages 10 to17 comprise 13.0% of the Utah population, 5.1% of all suicides,1 and 22.7% of all suicide attempts.2 • Two youth are treated for suicide attempts every day in Utah Use of a firearm was the most common method of suicide deaths for Utahans followed by suffocation, then poisoning.

16. Suicide Warning Signs Talking about suicide – Any talk about suicide, dying, or self-harm, such as “I wish I hadn’t been born,” “If I see you again…” and “I’d be better off dead.” Seeking out lethal means – Seeking access to guns, pills, knives, or other objects that could be used in a suicide attempt. Preoccupation with death – Unusual focus on death, dying, or violence. Writing poems or stories about death. No hope for the future – Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and being trapped (“There’s no way out”). Belief that things will never get better or change. Self-loathing, self-hatred – Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, shame, and self-hatred. Feeling like a burden (“Everyone would be better off without me”). Getting affairs in order – Making out a will. Giving away prized possessions. Making arrangements for family members. Saying goodbye – Unusual or unexpected visits or calls to family and friends. Saying goodbye to people as if they won’t be seen again. Withdrawing from others – Withdrawing from friends and family. Increasing social isolation. Desire to be left alone. Self-destructive behavior – Increased alcohol or drug use, reckless driving, unsafe sex. Taking unnecessary risks as if they have a “death wish.” Sudden sense of calm – A sudden sense of calm and happiness after being extremely depressed can mean that the person has made a decision to attempt suicide.

18. Reference https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/06/07/u-s-suicide-rates-rise-sharply-across-the-country-new-report-shows/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.20d3cbde1b40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0e-9sX9Ewc&t=14s https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/suicide-prevention/suicide-prevention.htm (2)Utah Inpatient Hospital Discharge Data, Office of Health Care Statistics; Utah Emergency Department Encounter Database, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Utah Department of Health, 2012-2014 data queried via Utah’s Indicator Based Information System for Public Health (IBIS-PH) [cited 2016 July] https://www.health.utah.gov/vipp/pdf/Suicide/SuicidePreventionCoalitionPlan2017-2021.pdf https://www.sltrib.com/news/health/2018/04/07/utah-needs-a-better-strategy-to-prevent-suicide-a-researcher-is-about-to-spend-years-talking-with-grieving-families-to-design-it/ https://utahsuicideprevention.org/suicide-prevention-basics/facts-data https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0e-9sX9Ewc&t=1s# https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=E1E12F728E289763064DA9393BFC01611C9DC2D5&thid=OIP.lzhob8XO37QE_wD362YjIgHaJD&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fa5%2F0f%2Fdf%2Fa50fdf324cc27ca25e39ded6aa32e1e8.jpg&exph=697&expw=570&q=pics+of+dogs+in+tutus&selectedindex=2&qpvt=pics+of+dogs+in+tutus&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=1,2,6 http://smallwinsinnovation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/incremental.jpg https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pics+of+people+holding+hands&FORM=HDRSC2