Listening Is the First Response
· William L Hartwick
What Is a Real Emergency?
When someone passes, you have to get home right away. When a parent has a stroke, they need you today. We know those emergencies. We drop everything. We answer the call.
But there is another emergency happening every single day — quieter, but just as deadly. It is the call we do not pick up. The text we leave on read. The friend who said "I'm fine" when nothing was fine. The child sitting alone with a weight no one bothered to ask about.
The real emergency we are missing is the one we never answered.
The Numbers Are Astronomical
For ages 10 to 34, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the United States. Not an accident. Not an illness most people fear. A preventable, human loss — happening to children, teenagers, and young adults who needed one more person to listen.
Behind every statistic is a phone that rang and went unanswered. A teacher who was too busy. A parent who said "not now." A friend who scrolled past the post. A coworker who never asked the second question.
Listening Is the First Response
We talk about 911 as the first response. But long before sirens, there is a quieter first response — the one every one of us can give. Listening.
Two ears, one mouth — use them in direct proportion. That is not a slogan. That is a survival plan. Most people in crisis are not asking you to fix them. They are asking you to hear them. To stay on the line a little longer. To ask one more question. To sit in the quiet with them instead of rushing to the next thing.
What You Can Do Today
1. Pick up the phone. If a name comes to your mind, that is not random. Call them. Today.
2. Ask the second question. "How are you?" is a greeting. "No really — how are you doing?" is a lifeline.
3. Save 988. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Put it in your phone. Share it with a child. Share it with a parent. Share it with the friend you are worried about.
4. Stop labeling. Start listening. Especially with children. The kid you call "a problem" may be the kid no one ever heard.
I'm Not a Problem Child
I'm not a problem child, I’'m a child who has a problem, please understand
It's very common with us who are “different” across our great land
Because I have a label of Tourette's, ADHD, Autism or any other neuro
Being able to survive ignorance should really make “us” your hero
Why do we constantly suffer judgment And believe what they actually say
There must be something wrong with them I'm here to show you another way
When your child misbehaves at school and sent home for acting out
This is where it's time to ask the question because you should have a doubt
Acceptance, patients, tolerance, and love should be a part of your every day
Wiithout these basic standards success will go away
The problem is not the child the problems not the school
The problem is we humans have become so very cruel
Just remember what it was like going through those teenage years
I can guarantee you each of you had many many tears
So before you judge a child as a problem not a gift from above
Please remember that every child deserves the gift of love
— William L Hartwick
Founder, The Invisible Backpack Organization
theinvisiblebackpackorganization.com | 904.609.1313