By EMS1 Staff
NEW ORLEANS — A 911 dispatcher helped save the life of a young man attempting to die by suicide.
WWLTV reported that Shaunice Walker received a call from a man who said his friend, a high school senior, was talking about ending his life.
“When I first initially got the call, it came from the victim’s friend. He called and said that his friend wanted to end his life, but didn’t know why. I asked for the victim’s phone number and I took the initiative of calling him firsthand,” Walker said. “Going through my mind, I was like why? Why does a young male entering his senior year in high school, want to end his life and commit suicide?”
Walker got the teen’s phone number from his friend and called him. He answered and said he was about to jump into the water at Algier’s Levee.
Walker said she convinced him that his life was worth living.
“Finding common ground. Talking to him, getting through that problem with him, he decided not to jump,” she said. “My heart was relieved, I was at ease knowing that my officers made contact with him to get him the help that he needed and that’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.”
Mayor LaToya Cantrell later visited the call center and thanked Walker for her actions.
“We are seeing an uptick of suicides in our city. And I want to make sure that we are addressing this head on. That we are informing the public that we have to be aware of not only our surroundings, but what people are going through,” Cantrell said.