Day 758

Prison statistics reported in June this year by the Howard league for Penal reform suggest the following:

30% rise in ‘self inflicted’ deaths.

A dramatic increase in the number of women who took their own lives – 11 compared with only one during the preceding year.

The quarter between April and June 2016 recorded the highest figures for self-harm (9505, of which 665 led to attendances at hospital), 6086 assaults, including 1,540 assaults on staff.

Number of prisons awarded the worst possible rating has doubled in the last year.

Number of murders in prison over the last 2 years is more than the previous 8 years put together.

Budget cuts meant that prison officer numbers fell from 24,000 in 2010 to just over 14,000 by 2014

‘Prisons are not only becoming more dangerous, they are becoming more dangerous more quickly.’ Could it be because mental health issues continue to dominate the police custody world as officers strive to make detention a better and kinder experience for individuals suffering from a crisis. Without proper support from and liason with Mental health services, these individuals land up on the streets or in deeper trouble.

Statements of difficult predicaments from National Custody Seminar, September 2016 :

“You can be dealing with a detainee who is ready for release, and they say to the custody sergeant ‘as soon as I walk out of here, I’m going to jump under a train’ or hang themselves, or create some horrible outcome.”

“The custody officer is then of course faced with a very difficult problem to solve. If they are telling you and you’ve got no reason to disbelieve that they may kill themselves or self-harm, what do you do? Do you let them go? How long do you follow them for?”

“Some officers have tried to detain people for their own good because they can’t rely on the Mental Health Act. Common sense tells you it’s the right thing to do, but the law says you are breaking it. I think that’s a loophole that needs to be sorted out and addressed.”

The deteriorating statistics could surely be a reflection of 2 key services starved of resources trying to look after vulnerable people – Mental Health and Police services.

Sources:

http://howardleague.org/news/prisons-are-becoming-more-dangerous-more-quickly/

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/12/ministers-prison-reform-overcrowded-understaffed-invest

http://polfed.org/newsroom/3683.aspx

Day 755

Posted by kidsaregifts20

There was no choice but to have a child-minder. She was a kind and gentle single woman who lived close by. She could accommodate my emergency night duties that came once every 3 or 4 nights. She picked him up from school most days except when I had an off-day post on-call. He loved to see me at the school gates. He ran to me with a big smile and open arms.

This afternoon we met again for the first time since Saagar’s death. It seemed like a completely different world. She said she loved him. He was the best child she had ever looked after. “I had such high hopes for him” she said, “always well mannered with a mischievous smile. He got on with everyone.” We wept holding hands.

We remembered the time when he would religiously have chicken noodles in her house every time he spent an evening there. He would keep mum about the dinner he had already eaten at home. We discovered his trick a few months in but let him get away with it. We laughed holding hands.

He lives in both our hearts forever.

I wonder if being well mannered and well dressed, having a firm hand-shake and making good eye-contact, asking intelligent questions and speaking well, being from a stable and educated family, automatically puts someone in the ‘low-risk’ for suicide category in the eyes of the health professionals.

No one but no one is immune.

Day 754

Posted by kidsaregifts20

Life is stranger than fiction. 16 years ago Saagar came to live in Belfast. Today I attended a Suicide Prevention conference entitled ‘What works? Speaking Truth to Power.’ in Belfast.

It was encouraging to see more than 250 people in the audience – counsellors and other frontline staff, police, GPs, policy makers, funders and voluntary groups. I met other bereaved parents and activists passionately working towards improving mental health services within the NHS and in the voluntary sector. It was inspiring. It gave me hope.

I shared Saagar’s story and the lessons that could be learnt from it. They listened. Afterwards, many came up for a hand-shake, a quick chat and a hug. One lady said, “I have been a psychologist for 12 years. Thank you for reminding me why I chose to be one.”

John Steinbeck, the American novelist once asked his long-time friend, the second Secretary General of the UN, Hammarskjold what he could do to support him and the UN. ‘Sit on the ground and talk to people. That’s the most important thing’ said Hammarskjold.

The longest journey starts with a single step which is to engage in conversation with people in our immediate environment, the place where we have set down the anchor of our lives and to take concerted action with them. The significance of dialogue lies in the process, in sharing thoughts and taking pleasure in each other’s company. This allows each individual to find meaning and feel like a valuable part of a community.

Day 740

Posted by kidsaregifts20

Since 1^st August 2016 ‘concealed carry’ is legal in Texas. It means that the state allows any licence-holder over 21 years of age to carry concealed handguns on their person while on university campus and into lectures.

Most educators in Texas are opposed to this for fear of the impact it will have of teaching contentious topics such as religion, politics and philosophy. But after the notorious shootings at Virginia Tech, Columbine and the University of Texas, some students welcome the ability to defend themselves. They also feel that it is a part of their culture as most of them are into hunting and target practise.

How would I feel if my friends and classmates were carrying lethal weapons? Would my teachers also be carrying them? How would that change the atmosphere of a lecture hall? The play ground? The pub? How would this ‘knowing but not knowing’ affect the relationships within the class?

(Source: https://campuscarry.utexas.edu/)

As indicated by the statistics below, half the suicides in the USA are caused by firearms. This could be due to the ready availability of means.

US statistics 2013

Total number of deaths by suicide : 42,773
13.4 per 100,000 population.

Firearm suicides : Number of deaths: 21,334
6.7 per 100,000 population

Suffocation suicides : Number of deaths: 11,407
3.6 per 100,000 population

Poisoning suicides : Number of deaths: 6,808
2.1 per 100,000 population

In addition 505 deaths occurred due to accidental or negligent discharge of a firearm and 11,208 due to homicide.

I like the proposal made by one of the professors at the University of Texas. He proposes ‘open care’ instead of ‘concealed carry’. If everyone knew that no one was carrying arms, we could be more relaxed and be caring towards each other. How have we come to a place where carrying a phallus shaped toy in our bag is illegal and carrying a handgun is not?

(http://www.cbsnews.com/news/university-of-texas-ut-campus-carry-law-sex-toy-protest-concealed-carry/)

Day 727

Posted by kidsaregifts20

aberfan_cemetery_geograph-3377917-by-stephen-mckay

We got the TV installed just before my parents came to stay for a few weeks. We hardly ever watch it. This evening I happened to switch it on as I was alone at home. I watched a film on the Aberfan disaster, a catastrophic collapse of a coal mine spoil tip in a small Welsh village. This occured in October 50 years ago and claimed the lives of 116 primary school kids. One of the snippets showed the utter chaos of it and mothers standing in a long row, passing rubble and bricks away from the disaster site. The mums, now in their 70s and 80s choked up while relating the experience and shared the pictures and sweet little belongings of their kids. They also remembered the great difficulty they had in surviving this immense loss. They wondered what their wee ones would be like as grown ups. They would be in their 50s now!

Wow! What must that be like!

It’s strange that while I actively seek out programmes on mental health related issues and thus manage my deep sense of loss, when I am not seeking anything out, the radio, TV or life bring me face to face with it.

12^th of October 2014 was a Sunday. Diwali, the festival of lights was less than 2 weeks away. Diwali signifies joy, love, reflection, resolution and knowledge and represents victory of good over evil and light over darkness. The annual Diwali Mela was being celebrated at Trafalgar Square. Saagar and I went along to that and ran into a photographer friend who took a few pictures.

I had no idea that those would be our last pictures together. Was I in darkness then and now I am in light? Or was I in light then and now I am in darkness? I don’t know.

This is one of those pictures. This is what a terminally ill person looks like.

With all due respect to parents whose kids have suffered cancer, I sometimes wish Saagar had cancer. It would have been taken seriously and looked after by specialists. I would have been given some facts, figures and things to watch out for. I would have had a chance to tell him how much I love him. I would have had a chance to say good-bye.