Mental Health Crisis Resources Near the Bon Air Neighborhood

On November 21, 2019, LMPD responded to a report of a suicide within the Bon Air Neighborhood. Other than it happening on Dean Drive, there is no other information and it is probably just as well for the privacy of the deceased, and the deceased's family.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (http://chapterland.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/Kentucky-State-Facts.pdf) suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in Kentucky in 2018 with 756 having people been determined to have taken their lives during last year.  The report of the suicide on Dean Drive brings it home that mental health problems do not just happen elsewhere, they happen in the Bon Air too.

With that in mind, it seemed appropriate to talk about the mental health resources available to the neighborhood.

Crisis Services Near Bon Air

If you are in finding that you or another person are in a mental health crisis and you or they do not feel safe you can do the following:

1) Call 911 and talk with a metro safe operator.  Depending on your situation a LMPD officer and/or EMS may come to your house and take you to a hospital for assessment.  LMPD has made special effort over the last 20 years to train officers on how to handle mental health crises. 

2) Call the Centerstone Crisis and Information Line 589-4313.  This is a phone service ran by the local public mental health agency, Centerstone (formerly called Seven Counties).

3) If you can get somewhere, go for an assessment at one of the following hospitals/medical centers near the neighborhood:

• U of L Peace Hospital (formerly Our Lady of Peace) 2020 Newburg Rd)
• The Brook Hospital Dupont 1405 Browns Lane
• Baptist Health 4000 Kresge Way
• U of L/Jewish Medical Center East 3920 Dutchman's Lane

As you can see from the map, all four are close to Bon Air:

• Peace Hospital is 3.2 miles away if you go west on Goldsmith Lane and then North on Newburg Rd.
• The Brook Dupont is 2.5 miles away if you go east on Taylorsville Rd, North on Breckinridge Ln and then East on Dutchman's Lane
• Baptist Health is also 2.5 miles away if you go east on Taylorsville Rd and then north on Breckinridge Ln. 
• Jewish Hospital Medical Center East is 1.8 miles away if you go east on Taylorsville Rd and then north on Breckinridge Ln. 

All of these facilities are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What to Expect in an Mental Health Assessment

Getting an assessment at Peace Hospital and the Brook are a similar experience given that they are "specialty" psychiatric hospitals.  You will go to the door and say that you are there for an assessment. You will fill out one or more registration forms.  You will then see a masters level clinician who conduct a structured assessment interview (they have a list of questions that they follow) 

U of L Peace Hospital's Assessment and Referral Center is on the north side of the hospital in the Assessment and Referral Center entrance. You (and any people with you) will have to go through a security screening that includes going through a metal detector. You will be taken to the hallway where you or your family member/friend will wait to be assessed.  Peace Hospital Clinicians type their answers into a computer.  The interview can take 30-60 minutes depending how much people have to say.  The clinician will then call a medical provider (usually a psychiatrist) to get direction on your case.

The Brook Dupont has you come in the designated entrance where you will wait to see a clinician. The Brook clinician fills out your answers on a worksheet and then will call a provider (usually a psychiatrist) and will get direction on your case.

Baptist Health and Jewish Medical Center are first and foremost medical emergency rooms and you will first get a medical clearance before you are assessed.  Baptist Health has an assessor who comes over from Behavioral Health Intake when called by the Emergency Department.  Jewish Medical Center will call for an U of L Peace Clinician to come to do the assessment. 

A note of caution: all of these locations are emergency rooms and they go in the order of arrival and may choose to triage and prioritize cases.  The wait for the assessment (sadly) can be hours, but you and/or your friend-family member will be safe; sometimes a lot of people come at the same time to be assessed and things just cannot go any faster (trust me--as an assessment clinician I have wished I could see people faster because I have felt bad that people have waited hours to be seen).

 Fighting the Stigma

For all intents and purposes in this post, I will define stigma as the embarrassment and shame  someone feels that they depressed and having suicidal thoughts.  When people feel this stigma there is the fear that the rest of the world will treat them like lepers, reject them, and avoid them forever. There can even be the emotional sense that your depression and suicidal thoughts will be the headline on the next day's edition of The Courier Journal.  

Stigma is the reason why people do not come in to seek help. 

In my 22 years of working in Mental Health, I have came to see that stigma is typically fueled by usually one dysfunctional family member who makes stupid, judgmental and insensitive comments.  Well, the rest of the world is not like your insensitive relative, and your seeking mental health assessment and treatment is a private matter that is by law held in a private, confidential manner. .  You will be treated with dignity in your assessment; you will not be mocked or laughed at because you or your loved one is having these issues.   

I will note that I have not talked about addiction resources near Bon Air but I may do a post in the future. 

I hope that you never need this information in your own life.  If you have questions to ask, you can post questions in the comment section or on Facebook.  I will be happy to take questions at the next Bon Air Neighborhood Association meeting tomorrow night (Monday), December 9, 2019 in the Bon Air Library Community room which starts at 6:30 pm. 

Bon Air Crime Analysis for November 2019. Up from October but not as High as September, and They were at the Edges.

This is an analysis for November, 2019 based on data posted by the Louisville Metro Police Department at https://data.louisvilleky.gov/dataset/crime-reports/resource/6d81fdf8-27e7-41ac-9ae4-1bfd8730f002 

It is a Microsoft Excel file that requires just a touch of manipulation and sorting

As usual it includes the crimes reported within the boundaries of the historical Bon Air Neighborhood as defined:
1) Bardstown Road on the West  
2) Hikes Lane on the South
3) Furman Blvd on the East and
4) Taylorsville Rd and the Watterson Expressway on the North. 

The Analysis reflects events that happen on the lines and so some of the reports reflect what has happened just on the line and outside the geopolitical boundary of the neighborhood. 

There was one police report of a suicide on Dean Drive.  It was a tragedy but not a crime. 

There were 38 crime reports between November 1 and November 30.  There were 32 reports for the 40218 area and six reports for 40220.   Of course it was up from the 21 reports for the area in October but certainly less than the 54 reports in September. 

To cut to the chase about the 40220 section the six reports will be listed: 

• 2800 BLOCK FLORA AVE           MISSING PERSONS                                          
• 3100 BLOCK RADIANCE RD       KNOWING WANTON/RECKLESS EXPLOIT OF ADULT                   
• 3500 BLOCK BROCKTON LN     TBUT OR DISP FIREARM                                         
• 3500 BLOCK GOLDSMITH LN    VEHICLE BREAK-IN/THEFT PARKING LOT / GARAGE
• 3500 BLOCK GOLDSMITH LN    TBUT OR DISP FROM BUILDING < $500                
• 3500 BLOCK GOLDSMITH LN   MISSING PERSONS         

For the 40218 section 

Right off of the top, it will be noted that there were seven reports at 2300 Goldsmith Lane. Six of them were missing children reports and one cold check charge.  I presume that the missing children were at Boys and Girls Haven.

The 3300 block of Bardstown Rd had five police reports.  Three of the complaints were at a hotel/motel that included two harassment charges and a theft incident. The other two were possession of a forged instrument and a harassment complaint with physical contact.

The most type of crime report in the 40218 area for the month was "Theft/Larceny."  They appeared to happen at the edges of the neighborhood and not within the center.

• 2200 BLOCK BASHFORD MANOR LN                               
• 2200 BLOCK HIKES LN                                        
• 2200 BLOCK HIKES LN                                        
• 2200 BLOCK HIKES LN                                        
• 2200 BLOCK LIVERPOOL LN                                    
• 3700 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD                                    
• 3700 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD                                                                 

There were three vehicle break-ins.  Two were at a service station in the 2300 and 2800 blocks of Hikes Lane.  The third break-in was in one of the parking lots in the 2200 block of Heather Lane.

There were three assault reports.  Two of them appeared to be at a single event in the 2300 Block of Terrier Court, which is a set of apartment houses.   The third was at 3500 Meadow Court 

There were two burglaries.  One burglary was at a church in the 2800 block of Hikes lane. The other was an apartment in the 2300 block of Hikes Lane. 

There were three fraud reports in the 2900 block of Hikes Lane, 3500 block of Lisbon Lane, and 3600 block of Bardstown Rd.   The Lisbon Lane incident appeared to be someone reporting identity theft. 

There were two categories with only one report.  There was one vandalism report at the 2300 Block of Hikes Lane at a business. There was one domestic violence report in the 2200 block of Gerald Court. 

Overall, if there was a particular theme, the crime reports in the 40218 section were mainly at the south and west edges of the neighborhood and not so much within the neighborhood.  

It remains to be said that the crime prevention techniques that Bon Air residents are using are effective.  Getting a door camera or a smart doorbell does deter would-be thieves.  As I walk the neighborhood making the next distribution of our membership letter, I note that many households have made the investment. 

Also, consider joining a block watch.  The Bon Air Neighborhood Association continues to endorse participation in block watches.  Given Chief Steve Conrad's recent statement that the LMPD budget woes will lead to between 75 to 100 fewer police officers in the next fiscal year, block watches seem all the more to be a viable citizen response to make our community safer.

If you are interested in Block Watch participation, please come to the next Bon Air Neighborhood Association meeting Monday, December 9, 2019 at 6:30 pm in the community room of the
Bon Air Neighborhood.