Clark “Skip” Cumings-Johnson, a former professor of law at Michigan State University now living in Glen Arbor, has made it known that he’s willing to make house calls for Leelanau County veterans who plan to act on suicidal thoughts.
Johnson explained that he’s interested in veteran services of all kinds, but particularly mental health and suicide prevention. Over the course of his career, he observed that mental health support for veterans went from being “virtually unheard of” to encompassing a broad spectrum of services. However, he believes there are still some areas that have gone unaddressed.
“As you know, there are a variety of safety nets in place for the benefit of veterans in distress,” Johnson said. “What they do not provide, in my opinion, is help at the critical point in time (before) committing the act of suicide.”
According to Johnson, most health programs for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces seek to identify symptoms of depression and mental illness early, so mental health experts can intervene before veterans develop a plan to end their own lives and the means to act on it.
But support services for the critical moments between the decision to commit suicide and acting on that decision are sorely lacking in Johnson’s view.
“A veteran, or generally anyone else for that matter, who has reached the point of having made the decision to commit suicide … does not get on the telephone for a ‘hotline’ chat with some unknown person, does not log onto their laptop for any reason, and does not drive to the nearest police facility for help,” Johnson said.
“In other words, safety nets provide much help but seem not to function either at or in deterrence of the final decision once made. It is at this point which I have tried to make myself available,” Johnson continued.
Johnson can be reached at his mobile number, 248-231-0496, or by emailing [email protected].
As Johnson says, hotline services may not always be the best way to reach a suicidal individual. Nonetheless, there is a national Veterans Crisis Line that provides 24/7 confidential support to veterans.
According to veterancrisisline. net, the line’s responders have been trained in crisis intervention and military culture to help veterans in times of crisis. They can be reached by dialing the Suicide and Crisis Line at 988 and pressing 1, texting 838255, or online chat at the Veterans Crisis Line website.
If a veteran or anyone else threatens suicide, mental health experts recommend taking the threat seriously. A friend or loved one can call 911 to reach the county’s Emergency Management Office and 911 Dispatch.
