911 Dispatchers get ‘First Responder’ status, more mental health help options

      Missouri 911 dispatchers will now be considered “first responders” in state statute under legislation that becomes effective next month.  That will bring a lot of changes, including increased access to mental health resources. 

Representative Robert Sauls (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Language in two bills signed into law by Governor Mike Parson (R) will add emergency telecommunicators to the definition of “first responders,” which previously included people like firefighters, police, and emergency medical personnel.  The change in designation will mean, among other things, that dispatchers will have access to the same mental health supports as those in those other jobs.

      Sarah Newell, Polk County 911 Director, says that’s something from which she and others in her field can definitely benefit.

      “I hear it every day.  I hear it happen.  I hear overdoses, I hear suicides, I hear fatality accidents in children.  It happens all the time,” Newell told House Communications. 

      She said a dispatcher’s emotions can be constantly in transition.  “We don’t stay consistent.  We drop to a one, and then we’re at a nine, and then okay we’re back to a two, and here we are, ten, ten, ten, and so it’s hard for your body to adjust to those heightened adrenaline changes so often throughout the day.”

      “Sometimes it’s minute-by-minute,” said Jamie Taylor, President of the Missouri Chapter of the National Emergency Numbers Association (MO NENA).  “[A dispatcher] could be on a really serious call with somebody that’s wanting to harm themselves and they’re having to try to talk them down, talk them through it … they could get right off of that call and deliver a baby on the next call.”

      Taylor said the proposed re-designation has been considered for years while legislators and state agencies worked to consider what changings it would bring, and how to best implement it, but he said legislators always seemed to favor the change.

      Representative Robert Sauls (D-Independence) has proposed such language for several years.  In his time as a Jackson County Prosecutor and later as a public defender he listened to a lot of 911 calls.

      “Having seen many of the videos and listened to many of these 911 calls, I know they’re stressful, and this is something that should have always been the case.  Opening that door for mental health is so important,” said Sauls.  “These people are the absolute first point of contact in most instances involving a crime and what could potentially be someone’s worst day of their life.  The stress that they undergo, the amount of pressure that’s placed on them at that time, these people absolutely should be treated as first responders.”

      Joplin Representative Lane Roberts (R) worked in public service for more than 40 years, including as Joplin’s Police Chief and the state’s Director of Public Safety.  He said he even did some dispatching early in his career.

Representative Lane Roberts (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “Those people, in my mind at least, are the most underappreciated element of public safety there is,” said Roberts.  “Everybody sort of takes them for granted.  They’re in this windowless environment.  Nobody sees them, they don’t get to see anybody, they deal with all the emotion, they deal with all the psychological trauma, but they don’t get to do anything except move on to the next calls.  But, when you’re the guy in the field and you get yourself in trouble, that dispatcher’s your lifeline and suddenly they become the single most important person on the planet.  There is just no way to express your appreciation for a good dispatcher.”

      Taylor said like anyone who has done the job, he has experienced calls that he’ll never forget – the kinds of calls that take a toll.

      “The one that really hits me most is during a Christmastime several years ago I took a call on a non-breather who ended up being a newborn … and the outcome wasn’t the outcome that we wanted.  The infant didn’t make it.  During the holidays, and whenever you have kids of your own, that stuff really starts to set in, and you don’t have an avenue to get rid of those emotions or be able to talk about it or seek help.”

      He hopes this change will help to slow what has been a notably high turnover rate in his field.

      “Our pool of people that want to do this job is getting smaller and smaller, so we really have to take care of those people that are here doing that job today and to be able to provide for those new people coming in,” said Taylor.

      He added that as much as anything, though, it will feel good for dispatchers simply to have this acknowledgement. 

      “It’s going to be huge for the folks that sit in a dark room or sit behind the scenes and deal with the public off and on, and handling those phone calls, and sometimes those dispatchers don’t get the recognition that they need.  I know departments try to recognize them within the department but being recognized by the state, now, as a first responder, it just brings smiles to my face.  Finally we get that ‘job well done’ piece that we’ve needed for a long time.”

      The change could also create access to grant dollars that could see local agencies expand the latest forms of 911 access in areas of Missouri that don’t have it.  Newell and Taylor expressed their thanks to the legislators who worked for so many years on this issue.

      That change in designation will take effect August 28.

House pushes mental health awareness after death of members’ family friend

The sponsor of mental health legislation said that issue hit close to home for her on the day her bill came to the House floor.

Representative Chrissy Sommer (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

St. Charles Republican Chrissy Sommer said that during her drive to the Capitol on Monday she received the tragic news that the mother of her daughter’s best friend had committed suicide.

“You may have noticed I’m a little shaky and nervous, and the reason is because on my way here today I found out that a friend of mind committed suicide, and I’ve been thinking about her a lot,” said Sommer.  “It really struck me that this [bill] was pulled up today … because it can affect everyone.”

The House gave initial approval to House Bill 108, which would have Missouri join the federal government in making May “Mental Health Awareness Month,” and in making July “Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.”

“I’m thinking of her and I’m doing this in her honor, and I hope that we will pass it … I don’t mean to get emotional … but I hope that we will pass this not only in her honor but in the honor of everyone who has lost someone to suicide,” said Sommer.

Sommer said untreated mental health contribute to things like unemployment, disability, homelessness, incarceration, substance abuse, and suicide.

“Early identification and treatment of mental illnesses have proven to be vital to any recovery process.  Stigma association with mental illness prevents many individuals from seeking the necessary treatment,” said Sommer.

The House heard that there are particular stigmas and disparities within minority communities regarding mental health.

St. Louis Democrat Bruce Franks, who speaks openly about numerous traumas in his life including seeing his brother fatally shot when they were both children, said he has contemplated suicide in the past.  He said there is a stigma in the African American community about getting help and what “mental health” is.”

Representative Bruce Franks (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“I talk on the floor about the funerals I’ve gone through and some of the things that I’ve seen, and even a couple of my Republican colleague friends on the other side have been to my district to see some of these traumatic things, so just imagine when folks are going through this each and every day and it plays on you mentally and you never get the help that you need because the people in your community and society sees this as a stigma,” said Franks.

Franks said the legislation is “very important, and it’s not just about an awareness month.  It’s about education and empowering people to let them know it’s okay to not be okay but it’s okay to seek help.”

Jefferson City Republican Dave Griffith said he hopes raising awareness will cause more struggling veterans to get help.

“Many of you may not have heard ‘hashtag-22.’  Hashtag-22 stands for the 22 veterans that commit suicide every day.  It is for real.  These men and women are suffering from PTSD and from many other mental illnesses and having a day or a month that we can recognize them is something that I stand for,” said Griffith.

“The perception of mental illness won’t change unless we act on it, and one way to do this is for us in Missouri to enact the Mental Health Awareness Month,” said Sommer.

With the House’s action on Monday, one more favorable vote would send HB 108 to the Senate.