By Sebrina Bellamy, Corrections Officer
I speak with numerous people on daily basis, but I never would have thought it would be a call like I received on September 16.
I received a strange call requesting to speak with me. I asked my partner if could he please take a message and he said she insisted on speaking with me, so I asked could she please hold the line until I finished the call I was on. When I picked up her call, I placed her on the speaker just in case it was something that needed to be witnessed because some time we get people calling in to complain.
She said to me, ‘is this Ms. Bellamy?’ Once I assured her it was, she began to explain to me who she was and I remembered her.
She began to tell me how depressed she was. She said she was in the process of stuffing her tailpipe with clothes, and was going to get in the car and switch the ignition switch on and sit there until she died. My partner immediately called the facility chaplain.
She said that I was all she had, to please talk to her because if I hung up the phone she was going to end her life. I started tearing up because I had a nephew that committed suicide on June 23 of this year and was not prepared to go through something like this. I knew I had to do something to keep this lady alive.
I began to encourage her, and we talked about her family. I began to tell her the story of what happened to my nephew and how he left his family behind with unanswered questions. I asked her if she wanted to do the same to her family, and to the man that loves and was depending on her to be there for him when he was released.
She was so upset because she had met a prior inmate at the bank and gave him the money to help bond her boyfriend out of jail but instead he took her money and fled. She started telling me that the only other man she loved of 20 years had passed away and now the other was in jail. I told her not to feel that way because both I and her family loved her.
She asked, if she came up to my job would I sit down and talk with her? I assured her that if that would make her feel better I would get someone to come in and help schedule visits.
During our conversation, I received another call so I asked her to please hold on for a second. She said if I got off the telephone, she would was going to end her life. At that time, the chaplain had made his way over and she refused to speak with him so he allowed me to continue my conversation with her.
I was somewhat aware of her community, so I asked her for an address, which she gave to me stating only if I was coming to get her. She did not want a police to come because they would put handcuffs on her and that she never been in trouble. I explained to her that I would not let anything happen to her. I pretended that I had a call I must answer.
At that time I called 911 and gave them her address, asking if they would send someone out there. I switched back over to her. We talked about her immediately family, which she had not seen in over a year and one brother she hadn’t talked to in 6 years. She said that she has no relationship with any of her family. I asked her for her mother’s telephone number. She responded that they didn’t care about her. I told her to let me make that decision.
Twenty minutes later her doorbell rang; she asked me to not hang up. Upon opening the door, it was the HCPD. She told me they were there so I asked him for his complete name, badge number and the name of the hospital she was going to be transported to. I explained to her that I called 911 so she could get help.
Once I knew she was safe and on her way to the hospital, I still felt like that wasn’t enough. I called her family and was unsuccessful the first three times, but I wouldn’t give up. I waited 20 minutes and called back and her mom picked up. I explained to her who I was and why I was calling. She was so grateful that I called because she had not heard or seen her daughter in a long time. I gave her the all the information she needed to contact the hospital.
I gave the officer time to get her to the hospital and later called him back and asked him how she was. He said to me that she was going to take her life and that’s the only reason he took her to the hospital. The chaplain walked me outside because I needed fresh air. I cried because I knew deep in my heart I had made a difference in someone’s life.
Upon her discharge, she came out to the facility to see me and gave me a big hug. She told me I would always be her ‘angel.’ She calls me often to check on me or to give me an update on her.
It’s always nice to be able to give anyone the time of day for kind words because you never know when you will receive a call from someone that is distraught or simply in need of a kind word.
My advice is to always be calm and do your best to keep them talking, always get as much information as possible. But never say anything that will make them lose confidence in you. Always make them feel like it’s all about them and their concerns.