by Alex Lickerman, MD
Though I’ve never lost a friend or family member to suicide, I have lost a patient.
I have known a number of people left behind by the suicide of people close to them, however. Given how much losing my patient affected me, I’ve only been able to guess at the devastation these people have experienced. Pain mixed with guilt, anger, and regret makes for a bitter drink, the taste of which I’ve seen take many months or even years to wash out of some mouths.
The one question everyone has asked without exception, that they ache to have answered more than any other, is simply, why?
Why did their friend, child, parent, spouse, or sibling take their own life? Even when a note explaining the reasons is found, lingering questions usually remain: yes, they felt enough despair to want to die, but why did they feel that? A person’s suicide often takes the people it leaves behind by surprise (only accentuating survivor’s guilt for failing to see it coming).
People who’ve survived suicide attempts have reported wanting not so much to die as to stop living, a strange dichotomy but a valid one nevertheless. If some in-between state existed, some other alternative to death, I suspect many suicidal people would take it. For the sake of all those reading this who might have been left behind by someone’s suicide, I wanted to describe how I was trained to think about the reasons people kill themselves. They’re not as intuitive as most think.
In general, people try to kill themselves for six reasons:
1. They’re depressed. This is without question the most common reason people commit suicide. Severe depression is always accompanied by a pervasive sense of suffering as well as the belief that escape from it is hopeless. The pain of existence often becomes too much for severely depressed people to bear. The state of depression warps their thinking, allowing ideas like “Everyone would all be better off without me” to make rational sense. They shouldn’t be blamed for falling prey to such distorted thoughts any more than a heart patient should be blamed for experiencing chest pain: it’s simply the nature of their disease.
Because depression, as we all know, is almost always treatable, we should all seek to recognize its presence in our close friends and loved ones. Often people suffer with it silently, planning suicide without anyone ever knowing. Despite making both parties uncomfortable, inquiring directly about suicidal thoughts in my experience almost always yields an honest response. If you suspect someone might be depressed, don’t allow your tendency to deny the possibility of suicidal ideation prevent you from asking about it.
2. They’re psychotic. Malevolent inner voices often command self-destruction for unintelligible reasons. Psychosis is much harder to mask than depression — and arguably even more tragic. The worldwide incidence of schizophrenia is 1% and often strikes otherwise healthy, high-performing individuals, whose lives, though manageable with medication, never fulfill their original promise.
Schizophrenics are just as likely to talk freely about the voices commanding them to kill themselves as not, and also, in my experience, give honest answers about thoughts of suicide when asked directly. Psychosis, too, is treatable, and usually must be for a schizophrenic to be able to function at all. Untreated or poorly treated psychosis almost always requires hospital admission to a locked ward until the voices lose their commanding power.
3. They’re impulsive. Often related to drugs and alcohol, some people become maudlin and impulsively attempt to end their own lives. Once sobered and calmed, these people usually feel emphatically ashamed. The remorse is usually genuine, and whether or not they’ll ever attempt suicide again is unpredictable. They may try it again the very next time they become drunk or high, or never again in their lifetime. Hospital admission is therefore not usually indicated. Substance abuse and the underlying reasons for it are generally a greater concern in these people and should be addressed as aggressively as possible.
4. They’re crying out for help, and don’t know how else to get it. These people don’t usually want to die but do want to alert those around them that something is seriously wrong. They often don’t believe they will die, frequently choosing methods they don’t think can kill them in order to strike out at someone who’s hurt them—but are sometimes tragically misinformed. The prototypical example of this is a young teenage girl suffering genuine angst because of a relationship, either with a friend, boyfriend, or parent who swallows a bottle of Tylenol—not realizing that in high enough doses Tylenol causes irreversible liver damage.
I’ve watched more than one teenager die a horrible death in an ICU days after such an ingestion when remorse has already cured them of their desire to die and their true goal of alerting those close to them of their distress has been achieved.
5. They have a philosophical desire to die. The decision to commit suicide for some is based on a reasoned decision often motivated by the presence of a painful terminal illness from which little to no hope of reprieve exists. These people aren’t depressed, psychotic, maudlin, or crying out for help. They’re trying to take control of their destiny and alleviate their own suffering, which usually can only be done in death. They often look at their choice to commit suicide as a way to shorten a dying that will happen regardless. In my personal view, if such people are evaluated by a qualified professional who can reliably exclude the other possibilities for why suicide is desired, these people should be allowed to die at their own hands.
6. They’ve made a mistake. This is a recent, tragic phenomenon in which typically young people flirt with oxygen deprivation for the high it brings and simply go too far. The only defense against this, it seems to me, is education.
The wounds suicide leaves in the lives of those left behind by it are often deep and long lasting. The apparent senselessness of suicide often fuels the most significant pain survivors feel. Thinking we all deal better with tragedy when we understand its underpinnings, I’ve offered the preceding paragraphs in hopes that anyone reading this who’s been left behind by a suicide might be able to more easily find a way to move on, to relinquish their guilt and anger, and find closure. Despite the abrupt way you may have been left, those don’t have to be the only two emotions you’re doomed to feel about the one who left you.
Alex Lickerman is an internal medicine physician at the University of Chicago who blogs at Happiness in this World.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Appeals panel agrees that failure to read document doesn't null contract
KEITH ARNOLD, Daily Reporter Staff Writer
A Franklin County appellate panel was unable to conclude that the Franklin County Municipal Court's determination in a breach of contract suit between a specialty home-cleaning service and the next of kin of a Grove City man who died in his home was against the manifest weight of the evidence in a recent decision.
"Upon our review of the record, we find no error in the trial court's determination that an enforceable contract existed between the parties," 10th District Court of Appeals Judge Patrick McGrath wrote for the 3-0 court.
The appellate court's holding overruled Nancy Buffington's claim that the trial court was mistaken to find that the contract between her and the cleaning service was enforceable and, therefore, obligated the woman to utilize the company's services per the agreed terms.
Buffington's father died in his home on Nov. 10, 2005, case summary provided. The man's body was discovered one-and-a-half to two days after his death. Approximately one week later, the personal belongings were removed from the home and it was listed for sale.
On Jan. 14, 2006, Buffington contracted for the services of Aftermath Inc., which provides biological remediation and cleanup services. According to the contract, the woman agreed to pay for cleanup services concerning an unattended death in the Grove City home.
Aftermath's complaint alleged that after the firm rendered services, appellant refused to pay the amount due under the contract. After a trial to the bench, the trial court concluded that a valid written contract existed between the parties and that the company was entitled to payment for the services rendered in accordance with the contract. The court awarded damages in the amount of $6,189.36 to Aftermath.
The panel noted Buffington signed both a site cleanup agreement and a fee agreement for non-insurance-related jobs. Additionally, the court rejected the woman's claim there existed no evidence that she understood or agreed to biological remediation of her father's home.
"... As noted by the trial court, appellant's stated failure to read the documents prior to signing them is of no consequence as it is well-established that the failure to read the terms of a contract is not a valid defense to enforcement of the contract," as in Haller v. Borror Corp. (1990), 50 Ohio St.3d 10, 14.
"Further, appellant's argument that she was 'mistaken' equally fails because 'relief for a unilateral mistake of material fact will not be provided where such mistake is the result of the negligence of the party seeking relief,'" as in Hikmet v. Turkoglu, 10th Dist. No. 08AP-1021, 2009-Ohio-6477, and Marshall v. Beach (2001), 143 Ohio App.3d 432, 437.
Fellow 10th District Judge Susan Brown and John Connor joined McGrath to form the majority.
The case is cited as Aftermath Inc. v. Buffington, 2010-Ohio-19.
Date Published: January 19, 2010
A Franklin County appellate panel was unable to conclude that the Franklin County Municipal Court's determination in a breach of contract suit between a specialty home-cleaning service and the next of kin of a Grove City man who died in his home was against the manifest weight of the evidence in a recent decision.
"Upon our review of the record, we find no error in the trial court's determination that an enforceable contract existed between the parties," 10th District Court of Appeals Judge Patrick McGrath wrote for the 3-0 court.
The appellate court's holding overruled Nancy Buffington's claim that the trial court was mistaken to find that the contract between her and the cleaning service was enforceable and, therefore, obligated the woman to utilize the company's services per the agreed terms.
Buffington's father died in his home on Nov. 10, 2005, case summary provided. The man's body was discovered one-and-a-half to two days after his death. Approximately one week later, the personal belongings were removed from the home and it was listed for sale.
On Jan. 14, 2006, Buffington contracted for the services of Aftermath Inc., which provides biological remediation and cleanup services. According to the contract, the woman agreed to pay for cleanup services concerning an unattended death in the Grove City home.
Aftermath's complaint alleged that after the firm rendered services, appellant refused to pay the amount due under the contract. After a trial to the bench, the trial court concluded that a valid written contract existed between the parties and that the company was entitled to payment for the services rendered in accordance with the contract. The court awarded damages in the amount of $6,189.36 to Aftermath.
The panel noted Buffington signed both a site cleanup agreement and a fee agreement for non-insurance-related jobs. Additionally, the court rejected the woman's claim there existed no evidence that she understood or agreed to biological remediation of her father's home.
"... As noted by the trial court, appellant's stated failure to read the documents prior to signing them is of no consequence as it is well-established that the failure to read the terms of a contract is not a valid defense to enforcement of the contract," as in Haller v. Borror Corp. (1990), 50 Ohio St.3d 10, 14.
"Further, appellant's argument that she was 'mistaken' equally fails because 'relief for a unilateral mistake of material fact will not be provided where such mistake is the result of the negligence of the party seeking relief,'" as in Hikmet v. Turkoglu, 10th Dist. No. 08AP-1021, 2009-Ohio-6477, and Marshall v. Beach (2001), 143 Ohio App.3d 432, 437.
Fellow 10th District Judge Susan Brown and John Connor joined McGrath to form the majority.
The case is cited as Aftermath Inc. v. Buffington, 2010-Ohio-19.
Date Published: January 19, 2010
Sunday, July 12, 2009
National Study Finds Highest Rate Of Suicide On Wednesdays
By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER
The Hartford Courant
July 11, 2009
Nearly a quarter of suicides in the U.S. occur on Wednesdays, about twice as many as almost every other day of the week, a new study has found.
The study, published in the journal Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, contradicts earlier findings that suicides are more common on Mondays and left experts puzzling over what may be behind Wednesday's grim distinction.
Is it something about the middle of the week? Job stresses piling up, potentially overwhelming people who already see their problems as insurmountable?
"It may be just that it feels like there's no way out on Wednesday, [it's] too long to wait for the weekend," said Theodore Mucha, medical director at the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital. Like other experts, he cautioned that his explanation was just a guess.
Researchers Augustine J. Kposowa and Stephanie D'Auria at the University of California, Riverside, examined data from U.S. death records from 2000 to 2004, focusing on adult suicides.
They found that 24.6 percent of suicides occurred on Wednesdays. The next-highest rates were 14.4 percent on Saturdays and 14.3 percent on Mondays. The fewest suicides occurred on Thursdays — 11.1 percent.
Kposowa and D'Auria also found that more suicides occurred in summer and spring than in fall or winter, contrasting with traditional thinking that winter months bring more risk of suicide.
Other parts of the study were consistent with previous research, showing that men are more likely to take their lives than women, and people who are divorced, white, educated or living in non-metropolitan areas have a higher risk of suicide.
The day of the week findings represent something new.
"This really does tell us something different," said Nina Heller, a social work professor at the University of Connecticut. "What it doesn't yet tell us is the why of that."
Heller said she had been "scratching my brain" since learning of the study, trying to think of a reason for the Wednesday peak in suicides. Maybe, she said, people who are already suffering from a mental illness and struggling to get through the week see Wednesday as a halfway point. "Perhaps they can't push any further," she said.
People who take their own lives often have lost perspective, becoming so despondent they lose track of things that might help them get through the day, said Charles Atkins, attending psychiatrist at Waterbury Hospital.
"One of the obvious speculations about Wednesday is that it's work-related, that people have become so caught up in the stress of the work week that whatever it is that's going on or is on their plate seems unsurmountable and suicide seems like a way out," he said.
Other national studies have indicated that working Americans typically list their jobs as their top source of stress, which Atkins said may lend weight to the idea that the Wednesday suicide peak could be related to the work week.
Kposowa also pointed to workplace stress as a potential explanation and believes changes in Americans' work and family life may be behind the shift in suicide's concentration from Mondays to Wednesdays.
Increased economic competition worldwide has threatened job security for many workers, heightening stress, frustration and even feelings of betrayal, said Kposowa, a sociology professor. "Individuals work harder and harder, but seem to be losing ground; they have little or nothing to show for their labor — especially among those who depend on others for wages," he wrote in an e-mail. "It is highly likely that the middle of the week (represented by Wednesday) is when these stressors and feelings of hopelessness are at their highest."
People may have once viewed Wednesday as the day you got over in order to look forward to a relaxed weekend, he said. But perhaps many Americans now see the next weekend as too far away.
Kposowa suggested that suicide prevention hot lines examine which days of the week call volumes are highest and consider placing more staff on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Mondays. Mental health workers might also consider scheduling more patient appointments on Wednesdays, he said.
Several mental health workers said they had not noticed a link between Wednesdays and an increased risk of suicide. More than 25,000 people kill themselves in the U.S. each year, an average of slightly more than one per day in each state, so trends that might be apparent from thousands of cases would not likely be noticed by individual mental health workers or programs.
A Courant analysis of Connecticut figures showed a different day distribution: from 2001 to 2004, no day stood out as sharply as Wednesday did in the national study. Most suicides — 16.7 percent — occurred on Tuesday, while 16.4 percent occurred on Monday and 14.5 percent on Wednesday. Thursday had the lowest occurrence, 12.1 percent. The data showed 966 adult suicides, a small fraction of the 131,636 in the national sample.
Seasonal suicide variations in Connecticut did reflect the national findings, with most occurring in summer and spring and fewer in winter and fall.
The seasonal figures contradict previous findings, but they didn't surprise Michael Levinson, director of clinical services at the Capitol Region Mental Health Center. He works nights in an emergency room and has gotten used to seeing more psychiatric emergencies in the spring.
"We always sort of look forward to spring gritting our teeth," he said.
While traditional thinking has focused on winter, with its cold weather and lack of sunlight, as a more common season for suicide, Levinson has a theory about why it may not be so: People think it's normal to be depressed in the winter. "Spring is the time of year when people are supposed to be rejuvenated and outside and enjoying themselves, and if you're not, it makes you feel comparatively worse than everybody else, which may make you feel more hopeless," he said.
Courant staff writer Matthew Kauffman contributed to this story.
The United Way's hotline for suicide prevention is available 24 hours a day and can be reached by dialing 2-1-1 The Capitol Region Mental Health Center's mobile crisis team, which serves the Hartford area, can be reached at 860-297-0999
The Hartford Courant
July 11, 2009
Nearly a quarter of suicides in the U.S. occur on Wednesdays, about twice as many as almost every other day of the week, a new study has found.
The study, published in the journal Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, contradicts earlier findings that suicides are more common on Mondays and left experts puzzling over what may be behind Wednesday's grim distinction.
Is it something about the middle of the week? Job stresses piling up, potentially overwhelming people who already see their problems as insurmountable?
"It may be just that it feels like there's no way out on Wednesday, [it's] too long to wait for the weekend," said Theodore Mucha, medical director at the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital. Like other experts, he cautioned that his explanation was just a guess.
Researchers Augustine J. Kposowa and Stephanie D'Auria at the University of California, Riverside, examined data from U.S. death records from 2000 to 2004, focusing on adult suicides.
They found that 24.6 percent of suicides occurred on Wednesdays. The next-highest rates were 14.4 percent on Saturdays and 14.3 percent on Mondays. The fewest suicides occurred on Thursdays — 11.1 percent.
Kposowa and D'Auria also found that more suicides occurred in summer and spring than in fall or winter, contrasting with traditional thinking that winter months bring more risk of suicide.
Other parts of the study were consistent with previous research, showing that men are more likely to take their lives than women, and people who are divorced, white, educated or living in non-metropolitan areas have a higher risk of suicide.
The day of the week findings represent something new.
"This really does tell us something different," said Nina Heller, a social work professor at the University of Connecticut. "What it doesn't yet tell us is the why of that."
Heller said she had been "scratching my brain" since learning of the study, trying to think of a reason for the Wednesday peak in suicides. Maybe, she said, people who are already suffering from a mental illness and struggling to get through the week see Wednesday as a halfway point. "Perhaps they can't push any further," she said.
People who take their own lives often have lost perspective, becoming so despondent they lose track of things that might help them get through the day, said Charles Atkins, attending psychiatrist at Waterbury Hospital.
"One of the obvious speculations about Wednesday is that it's work-related, that people have become so caught up in the stress of the work week that whatever it is that's going on or is on their plate seems unsurmountable and suicide seems like a way out," he said.
Other national studies have indicated that working Americans typically list their jobs as their top source of stress, which Atkins said may lend weight to the idea that the Wednesday suicide peak could be related to the work week.
Kposowa also pointed to workplace stress as a potential explanation and believes changes in Americans' work and family life may be behind the shift in suicide's concentration from Mondays to Wednesdays.
Increased economic competition worldwide has threatened job security for many workers, heightening stress, frustration and even feelings of betrayal, said Kposowa, a sociology professor. "Individuals work harder and harder, but seem to be losing ground; they have little or nothing to show for their labor — especially among those who depend on others for wages," he wrote in an e-mail. "It is highly likely that the middle of the week (represented by Wednesday) is when these stressors and feelings of hopelessness are at their highest."
People may have once viewed Wednesday as the day you got over in order to look forward to a relaxed weekend, he said. But perhaps many Americans now see the next weekend as too far away.
Kposowa suggested that suicide prevention hot lines examine which days of the week call volumes are highest and consider placing more staff on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Mondays. Mental health workers might also consider scheduling more patient appointments on Wednesdays, he said.
Several mental health workers said they had not noticed a link between Wednesdays and an increased risk of suicide. More than 25,000 people kill themselves in the U.S. each year, an average of slightly more than one per day in each state, so trends that might be apparent from thousands of cases would not likely be noticed by individual mental health workers or programs.
A Courant analysis of Connecticut figures showed a different day distribution: from 2001 to 2004, no day stood out as sharply as Wednesday did in the national study. Most suicides — 16.7 percent — occurred on Tuesday, while 16.4 percent occurred on Monday and 14.5 percent on Wednesday. Thursday had the lowest occurrence, 12.1 percent. The data showed 966 adult suicides, a small fraction of the 131,636 in the national sample.
Seasonal suicide variations in Connecticut did reflect the national findings, with most occurring in summer and spring and fewer in winter and fall.
The seasonal figures contradict previous findings, but they didn't surprise Michael Levinson, director of clinical services at the Capitol Region Mental Health Center. He works nights in an emergency room and has gotten used to seeing more psychiatric emergencies in the spring.
"We always sort of look forward to spring gritting our teeth," he said.
While traditional thinking has focused on winter, with its cold weather and lack of sunlight, as a more common season for suicide, Levinson has a theory about why it may not be so: People think it's normal to be depressed in the winter. "Spring is the time of year when people are supposed to be rejuvenated and outside and enjoying themselves, and if you're not, it makes you feel comparatively worse than everybody else, which may make you feel more hopeless," he said.
Courant staff writer Matthew Kauffman contributed to this story.
The United Way's hotline for suicide prevention is available 24 hours a day and can be reached by dialing 2-1-1 The Capitol Region Mental Health Center's mobile crisis team, which serves the Hartford area, can be reached at 860-297-0999
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Dirty job gets done
By HANK DANISZEWSKI
Ron Thomas of Canadian Crime and Trauma Scene Cleanup and his two employees clean up after crime, suicides, accidents or natural deaths. (Morris Lamont, Sun Media)
After the ambulance, police and media leave a violent crime scene, someone has to clean up the bloody mess.
That would be Ron Thomas, owner of Canadian Crime and Trauma Scene Cleanup.
Based in London, Thomas and his two employees go all over Southwestern Ontario cleaning up after crime, suicides, accidents or natural deaths that go undiscovered for some time.
Last week, he was called by police in Woodstock to clean up the home of the parents of Thomas Rafferty, who was charged in the murder of eight-year-old Victoria (Tori) Stafford.
Thomas tidied up and cleaned all the fingerprint dust after the police investigators were through.
The company also does a lot of hoarding cases -- people who die or move away, leaving piles of rotting debris and garbage in their homes.
Thomas said any dried blood or human tissue left at a crime scene carries the risk of disease and infection and is treated as a biohazard.
"You don't know who you are cleaning up for. It has to be treated like toxic material," he said.
In the most serious cases, he and his crew don biohazard suits and respirators. Waste from a contaminated scene usually has to be incinerated.
Thomas launched the company in 2006 as a spinoff of S.A. Thomas Dyna-Build, a flood and fire restoration business run by his brother.
He and his crew went to Ohio to get training and certification from the American Bio-Recovery Association.
Thomas, who has to document all his work to satisfy provincial safety and environment officials, said careful cleanup allows a house or vehicle to be usable again. That puts an end to the urban myth about the new Cadillac selling dirt-cheap because a dead body was found inside.
Thomas has a hydroxyl cleaner and disinfectant generator that can neutralize all foul-smelling molecules.
He said it's often a grim business that many couldn't handle
"I don't know if you ever get used to it. But nothing surprises me any more," he said.
Thomas said black humour becomes a coping mechanism, as it often is for police and health professionals.
"You do it behind the scenes. It helps you not to think about the seriousness of the situation."
Over the years he has collected many unusual tales.
There was the dim-witted criminal who smashed into an ATM machine and had his hand mangled when he reached into the machinery. Thomas was called in to clean up the blood and disinfect the machine.
Then there was the nice, neat luxury home where the master bedroom and kitchen were off-limits to the professional cleaners. Thomas was called in after the elderly owner moved out. He carted 810 wine bottles and mounds of cigarette butts out of the bedroom and found the fridge stuffed with rotting food.
Thomas's services don't come cheap. He charges about $175 an hour, which he says is the going rate.
He said cleaning up the scene of a tragedy can be hazardous both physically and mentally and should be left to professionals.
"There are some things you should not see, especially if it involves a loved one. Some people try it and call us halfway through," he said.
Hank Daniszewski is a Free Press business reporter. hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Crime Scene Leftovers Pose Problem For Sanitation
Call it the Case of the Bloody Mattress.
City sanitation workers in southwestern Kentucky were recently left with the problem of how to dispose of a bloody mattress put out with the trash.
The mattress came from a home where police say a 37-year-old man appears to have died from self-inflicted stab wounds. The problem came when trash collectors realized they couldn't pick up a potential biohazard, but didn't want to leave it by the side of the road in a residential neighborhood in Hopkinsville.
"This was an area of concern for us because blood is considered a biohazard and not only can our trash trucks not pick it up, but it could be dangerous for people in the community," said George Hampton, a route supervisor for Hopkinsville Solid Waste Authority.
The Kentucky New Era reports that the mattress disappeared by midweek, but sanitation officials didn't take it and were still trying to make sure it was properly disposed of. The location of the mattress remained a mystery at week's end.
Hopkinsville sanitation workers received an anonymous call reporting a mattress, possibly covered in blood, that had been set on a curb outside of a home. That was the concern of the anonymous caller, Hampton said, who said children in the neighborhood could start to play on the mattress and come into contact with the dried blood that might have diseases.
Because there was blood on the mattress, sanitation workers couldn't haul it off with the rest of the trash.
"It raises a question for us about where we take it from here," Hampton said. "Someone has to clean up messes like these and we can't do it."
Solid Waste Superintendent Bill Bailey said sanitation workers aren't allowed to pick up possible biohazards, including blood, from the side of the road. Instead, Bailey said, the department needs to call other landfills to see who will pick up and take the items.
"Sometimes we can process and wrap it in plastic and dispose of it that way. But other times we have to contact a company that deals with disposing of medical waste."
Charlotte Write, a spokeswoman for Stericycle, a national company that specializes in medical waste disposal, said medical waste is generally burned to kill pathogens that can live in dried blood.
"It is important to dispose of all medical waste, especially waste that comes from the body, so as not to spread diseases," Write said.
Hopkinsville Police Chief Guy Howie said the families must clean up the scene of a murder or suicide or pay to have it done.
"It doesn't sound very friendly, I know, but that's just how it has to be handled," Howie said. "Someone has to clean it up and someone has to dispose of all of this, it's just a matter of figuring out who. It's amazing that just one mattress on a curb can raise so many questions."
Someone solved sanitation's problem by taking the mattress from in front of the home. Bailey said sanitation workers didn't remove it, but finding out what became of the mattress is important. It had to be properly sterilized and disposed of.
"We can't just stick it in our landfill and be done with it," Bailey said. "Whether it's on that curb or not, it's still hazardous material."
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tent city under scrutiny by committee
Published Saturday May 30th, 2009
Behind the brush: A tent and sleeping bag can be seen behind the Victoria Health Centre on Friday afternoon.
Human excrement, broken glass, feminine hygiene products, evidence of cooking fires and discarded, contaminated drug needles pose a safety risk to the public and that has politicians and non-profit agencies concerned.
The Daily Gleaner has learned that a committee of concerned officials, including the Fredericton Police Force, has been meeting twice a week for more than a month to discuss solutions.
"There's a number of property owners that are touched by this - the province, the federal government - and the Delta is leasing some property as well," said police Chief Barry MacKnight.
"There are discarded needles down there and there are environmental concerns."
He said there's a mixed group of residents - homeless, addicts and people with mental health issues - and they're known to start parties late at night.
"We're working on different solutions in moving people out of there," he said.
Drug dealers are also preying on that population, not only selling drugs but stealing from the tenters, MacKnight said.
"The police presence down there is highly visible and very frequent and it will continue to be,"
Officers are taking an enforcement approach and attempting to nab hardened criminals.
"We're working at dealing with this directly, but it's not an easy one ... How to get these people out and into a more sustainable situation and how to keep the wolves away from them, those people that are taking advantage of them. It's a difficult situation," MacKnight said.
The tent city population fluctuates from two to four to a dozen depending on the weather, the day and the time.
MacKnight said there are legal issues about when and how to try to evict the campers and there are court rulings in British Columbia that give the city pause before contemplating a sweeping eviction or cleanup of the site.
Cleaning up brush and tree cover to expose the tent sites, which are often tucked back into the undergrowth along the riverbank, raises another set of legislative complications.
"There's environmental regulations about what you do with trees and growth around a watercourse," MacKnight said. "This issue is not going to be resolved in the next few days, but our primary focus has been, and always is, public safety."
Coun. Stephen Kelly is keeping a close eye on the situation in his southside ward.
"It's a very volatile situation. It's very dangerous," said Coun. Stephen Kelly, "in terms of the biohazards and some of the people down there and what they're doing.
"The tent city is growing, it's back and it's cultivating some serious issues."
Delta general manager Sarah Holyoke is on the city's tent city committee and said she's participating in hopes of finding a solution.
"I'm definitely very concerned about the situation," Holyoke said.
Paul McCarthy, president of BioRecovery Canada Inc., which does crime-scene cleanup, scanned the area to try to give the committee a sense of the extent of cleanup required.
McCarthy said the river has washed up a lot of bramble and there's concern that glass and needles can be buried beneath deposits from the spring freshet.
"There is a lot of broken glass, personal clothing items, personal hygiene applicators, a lot of plastic bags," said McCarthy, who visited the site with police two weeks ago.
McCarthy said cleaning up the site is a big job, although he said he would be happy to install sharps containers to collect used needles and service the collection sites periodically.
That opens up a debate about whether that condones illegal drug activity or protects the public, and McCarthy is mindful of those issues and said they'll be discussed
Fredericton's riverbank behind the Delta Fredericton Hotel and Government House has once again become home to drug addicts, the homeless and tenters.
Behind the brush: A tent and sleeping bag can be seen behind the Victoria Health Centre on Friday afternoon.
Human excrement, broken glass, feminine hygiene products, evidence of cooking fires and discarded, contaminated drug needles pose a safety risk to the public and that has politicians and non-profit agencies concerned.
The Daily Gleaner has learned that a committee of concerned officials, including the Fredericton Police Force, has been meeting twice a week for more than a month to discuss solutions.
"There's a number of property owners that are touched by this - the province, the federal government - and the Delta is leasing some property as well," said police Chief Barry MacKnight.
"There are discarded needles down there and there are environmental concerns."
He said there's a mixed group of residents - homeless, addicts and people with mental health issues - and they're known to start parties late at night.
"We're working on different solutions in moving people out of there," he said.
Drug dealers are also preying on that population, not only selling drugs but stealing from the tenters, MacKnight said.
"The police presence down there is highly visible and very frequent and it will continue to be,"
Officers are taking an enforcement approach and attempting to nab hardened criminals.
"We're working at dealing with this directly, but it's not an easy one ... How to get these people out and into a more sustainable situation and how to keep the wolves away from them, those people that are taking advantage of them. It's a difficult situation," MacKnight said.
The tent city population fluctuates from two to four to a dozen depending on the weather, the day and the time.
MacKnight said there are legal issues about when and how to try to evict the campers and there are court rulings in British Columbia that give the city pause before contemplating a sweeping eviction or cleanup of the site.
Cleaning up brush and tree cover to expose the tent sites, which are often tucked back into the undergrowth along the riverbank, raises another set of legislative complications.
"There's environmental regulations about what you do with trees and growth around a watercourse," MacKnight said. "This issue is not going to be resolved in the next few days, but our primary focus has been, and always is, public safety."
Coun. Stephen Kelly is keeping a close eye on the situation in his southside ward.
"It's a very volatile situation. It's very dangerous," said Coun. Stephen Kelly, "in terms of the biohazards and some of the people down there and what they're doing.
"The tent city is growing, it's back and it's cultivating some serious issues."
Delta general manager Sarah Holyoke is on the city's tent city committee and said she's participating in hopes of finding a solution.
"I'm definitely very concerned about the situation," Holyoke said.
Paul McCarthy, president of BioRecovery Canada Inc., which does crime-scene cleanup, scanned the area to try to give the committee a sense of the extent of cleanup required.
McCarthy said the river has washed up a lot of bramble and there's concern that glass and needles can be buried beneath deposits from the spring freshet.
"There is a lot of broken glass, personal clothing items, personal hygiene applicators, a lot of plastic bags," said McCarthy, who visited the site with police two weeks ago.
McCarthy said cleaning up the site is a big job, although he said he would be happy to install sharps containers to collect used needles and service the collection sites periodically.
That opens up a debate about whether that condones illegal drug activity or protects the public, and McCarthy is mindful of those issues and said they'll be discussed
Behind the brush: A tent and sleeping bag can be seen behind the Victoria Health Centre on Friday afternoon.
Human excrement, broken glass, feminine hygiene products, evidence of cooking fires and discarded, contaminated drug needles pose a safety risk to the public and that has politicians and non-profit agencies concerned.
The Daily Gleaner has learned that a committee of concerned officials, including the Fredericton Police Force, has been meeting twice a week for more than a month to discuss solutions.
"There's a number of property owners that are touched by this - the province, the federal government - and the Delta is leasing some property as well," said police Chief Barry MacKnight.
"There are discarded needles down there and there are environmental concerns."
He said there's a mixed group of residents - homeless, addicts and people with mental health issues - and they're known to start parties late at night.
"We're working on different solutions in moving people out of there," he said.
Drug dealers are also preying on that population, not only selling drugs but stealing from the tenters, MacKnight said.
"The police presence down there is highly visible and very frequent and it will continue to be,"
Officers are taking an enforcement approach and attempting to nab hardened criminals.
"We're working at dealing with this directly, but it's not an easy one ... How to get these people out and into a more sustainable situation and how to keep the wolves away from them, those people that are taking advantage of them. It's a difficult situation," MacKnight said.
The tent city population fluctuates from two to four to a dozen depending on the weather, the day and the time.
MacKnight said there are legal issues about when and how to try to evict the campers and there are court rulings in British Columbia that give the city pause before contemplating a sweeping eviction or cleanup of the site.
Cleaning up brush and tree cover to expose the tent sites, which are often tucked back into the undergrowth along the riverbank, raises another set of legislative complications.
"There's environmental regulations about what you do with trees and growth around a watercourse," MacKnight said. "This issue is not going to be resolved in the next few days, but our primary focus has been, and always is, public safety."
Coun. Stephen Kelly is keeping a close eye on the situation in his southside ward.
"It's a very volatile situation. It's very dangerous," said Coun. Stephen Kelly, "in terms of the biohazards and some of the people down there and what they're doing.
"The tent city is growing, it's back and it's cultivating some serious issues."
Delta general manager Sarah Holyoke is on the city's tent city committee and said she's participating in hopes of finding a solution.
"I'm definitely very concerned about the situation," Holyoke said.
Paul McCarthy, president of BioRecovery Canada Inc., which does crime-scene cleanup, scanned the area to try to give the committee a sense of the extent of cleanup required.
McCarthy said the river has washed up a lot of bramble and there's concern that glass and needles can be buried beneath deposits from the spring freshet.
"There is a lot of broken glass, personal clothing items, personal hygiene applicators, a lot of plastic bags," said McCarthy, who visited the site with police two weeks ago.
McCarthy said cleaning up the site is a big job, although he said he would be happy to install sharps containers to collect used needles and service the collection sites periodically.
That opens up a debate about whether that condones illegal drug activity or protects the public, and McCarthy is mindful of those issues and said they'll be discussed
Fredericton's riverbank behind the Delta Fredericton Hotel and Government House has once again become home to drug addicts, the homeless and tenters.
Behind the brush: A tent and sleeping bag can be seen behind the Victoria Health Centre on Friday afternoon.
Human excrement, broken glass, feminine hygiene products, evidence of cooking fires and discarded, contaminated drug needles pose a safety risk to the public and that has politicians and non-profit agencies concerned.
The Daily Gleaner has learned that a committee of concerned officials, including the Fredericton Police Force, has been meeting twice a week for more than a month to discuss solutions.
"There's a number of property owners that are touched by this - the province, the federal government - and the Delta is leasing some property as well," said police Chief Barry MacKnight.
"There are discarded needles down there and there are environmental concerns."
He said there's a mixed group of residents - homeless, addicts and people with mental health issues - and they're known to start parties late at night.
"We're working on different solutions in moving people out of there," he said.
Drug dealers are also preying on that population, not only selling drugs but stealing from the tenters, MacKnight said.
"The police presence down there is highly visible and very frequent and it will continue to be,"
Officers are taking an enforcement approach and attempting to nab hardened criminals.
"We're working at dealing with this directly, but it's not an easy one ... How to get these people out and into a more sustainable situation and how to keep the wolves away from them, those people that are taking advantage of them. It's a difficult situation," MacKnight said.
The tent city population fluctuates from two to four to a dozen depending on the weather, the day and the time.
MacKnight said there are legal issues about when and how to try to evict the campers and there are court rulings in British Columbia that give the city pause before contemplating a sweeping eviction or cleanup of the site.
Cleaning up brush and tree cover to expose the tent sites, which are often tucked back into the undergrowth along the riverbank, raises another set of legislative complications.
"There's environmental regulations about what you do with trees and growth around a watercourse," MacKnight said. "This issue is not going to be resolved in the next few days, but our primary focus has been, and always is, public safety."
Coun. Stephen Kelly is keeping a close eye on the situation in his southside ward.
"It's a very volatile situation. It's very dangerous," said Coun. Stephen Kelly, "in terms of the biohazards and some of the people down there and what they're doing.
"The tent city is growing, it's back and it's cultivating some serious issues."
Delta general manager Sarah Holyoke is on the city's tent city committee and said she's participating in hopes of finding a solution.
"I'm definitely very concerned about the situation," Holyoke said.
Paul McCarthy, president of BioRecovery Canada Inc., which does crime-scene cleanup, scanned the area to try to give the committee a sense of the extent of cleanup required.
McCarthy said the river has washed up a lot of bramble and there's concern that glass and needles can be buried beneath deposits from the spring freshet.
"There is a lot of broken glass, personal clothing items, personal hygiene applicators, a lot of plastic bags," said McCarthy, who visited the site with police two weeks ago.
McCarthy said cleaning up the site is a big job, although he said he would be happy to install sharps containers to collect used needles and service the collection sites periodically.
That opens up a debate about whether that condones illegal drug activity or protects the public, and McCarthy is mindful of those issues and said they'll be discussed
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Why you need crime scene cleanup services
By Alex Thomson
Crime scene cleanup or trauma scene cleanup after the death of someone either violently or naturally is by and large the responsibility of the victim’s family. Even till few years ago, there were a handful of cleaning companies that specialized in trauma cleaning service. But today this niche service has emerged as a lucrative business and there are many companies who provide this service.
Trauma cleaning service requires special experience, skills, equipment and expertise to deal with different types of bio-hazardous waste and dispose them efficiently with the minimum possible emotional stress to the victim’s family.
The most traumatic form of death is violent death and leaves the victim’s family feeling both victimized and traumatized. Coming to terms with the unnatural death of a loved one is in itself an uphill task for the bereaved family, and to top it they have to deal with other practical matters like making funeral arrangements, dealing with insurance issues, contacting surviving family and friends and locating wills. Furthermore, in case of violent crimes the police and the media are also involved. This can really overwhelm any family. Here is where trauma cleaning service comes to your rescue. They lighten one of the heaviest burdens, that is of dealing with the horrid murder cleanup. They will take care of the crime scene cleanup, ensuring that the scene is restored to its pre-incidental state as far as possible and in the most quick and efficient manner thus allowing you to deal with other important matters. Most service providers work discreetly and protect the confidentiality of the sufferer and family.
Most of the times, the crime scenes are so ghastly that they can induce additional emotional trauma in victim’s friends and family. By hiring professionals for cleanup, you can reduce this emotional stress. Immediately after death the nature begins its process of breaking down the body. Unattended death scene and dead bodies can be dangerous as it gives rise to blood borne pathogens, mold spores and bacteria. You may try to clean the area by yourself but the exposure may result in flu-like diseases or direct attack on the respiratory system. So it is advisable to leave this job to professionals who specialize in bio fluid and blood remediation.
The total cost involving a trauma scene cleanup will depend on a number of factors. One of the most major factors is that how many technicians will be needed for the job, how long will the job take and the quantity of hazardous material that needs to be treated and disposed of. It can range anywhere in the range of $100 to $1000 per hour. Some people might call this business as capitalizing on death but it is still essential and indispensable in case of a death.
Crime scene cleanup or trauma scene cleanup after the death of someone either violently or naturally is by and large the responsibility of the victim’s family. Even till few years ago, there were a handful of cleaning companies that specialized in trauma cleaning service. But today this niche service has emerged as a lucrative business and there are many companies who provide this service.
Trauma cleaning service requires special experience, skills, equipment and expertise to deal with different types of bio-hazardous waste and dispose them efficiently with the minimum possible emotional stress to the victim’s family.
The most traumatic form of death is violent death and leaves the victim’s family feeling both victimized and traumatized. Coming to terms with the unnatural death of a loved one is in itself an uphill task for the bereaved family, and to top it they have to deal with other practical matters like making funeral arrangements, dealing with insurance issues, contacting surviving family and friends and locating wills. Furthermore, in case of violent crimes the police and the media are also involved. This can really overwhelm any family. Here is where trauma cleaning service comes to your rescue. They lighten one of the heaviest burdens, that is of dealing with the horrid murder cleanup. They will take care of the crime scene cleanup, ensuring that the scene is restored to its pre-incidental state as far as possible and in the most quick and efficient manner thus allowing you to deal with other important matters. Most service providers work discreetly and protect the confidentiality of the sufferer and family.
Most of the times, the crime scenes are so ghastly that they can induce additional emotional trauma in victim’s friends and family. By hiring professionals for cleanup, you can reduce this emotional stress. Immediately after death the nature begins its process of breaking down the body. Unattended death scene and dead bodies can be dangerous as it gives rise to blood borne pathogens, mold spores and bacteria. You may try to clean the area by yourself but the exposure may result in flu-like diseases or direct attack on the respiratory system. So it is advisable to leave this job to professionals who specialize in bio fluid and blood remediation.
The total cost involving a trauma scene cleanup will depend on a number of factors. One of the most major factors is that how many technicians will be needed for the job, how long will the job take and the quantity of hazardous material that needs to be treated and disposed of. It can range anywhere in the range of $100 to $1000 per hour. Some people might call this business as capitalizing on death but it is still essential and indispensable in case of a death.
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