#Transforming911: Jessica Bueler
Jessica: I was working the ThurtenE Carnival at WashU for the weekend. Welcome Neighbor STL provided all of the food for the event — nine different food booths from eight different countries. My job was to drive back and forth from the commercial kitchen to transport it. There was a golf cart waiting each time I got back to campus. So I would drop everything off, and then volunteers would take it all to the carnival to set up. I’m not a mom, but I felt like one that day because I was managing 105 volunteers.
As I was driving back to the commercial kitchen, STL Foodworks, I saw a woman who had fallen over in the street and there was a guy next to her trying to pick her up. It seemed like it just happened. The woman driving in front of me slowed down and I did, too. You know those events where you see something happen and nobody ever responds? I’m always the first person to be like, “Oh my god! What can we do to help?” So I rolled down the window and asked, “Are you okay?”
The guy said, “This is my mother. I need help.” I could see in his eyes he was terrified. She was slumped over in a fetal position, kind of squatting. She was pretty little, probably like 5 feet tall. I pulled over and left the keys in my car right there on Lindell. I called 911 and got this recording over and over like, “Your call is very important to us.” Meanwhile, the other woman who stopped her car is running around the corner trying to get a wheelchair. It was a whirlwind.
Somehow she got a wheelchair and rolled it over. My role in all of this was to get 911 to answer. Meanwhile, everyone just kept looking at me like, “Are they coming? Are they coming?” I had to say, “They’re not answering.” They were like, “What do you mean not answering?” So we were waiting. We were able to get the guy’s mom into the wheelchair. I don’t know where the two of them were coming from or if he had a car, but we loaded the mom into the other woman’s car with her son. As fast as the whole thing happened, it was over. I would say it was 12 minutes from beginning to end, but it felt like an eternity when you’re waiting for 911 and nobody answers.
I was still on hold with 911 when they drove away for the hospital. I looked at my phone and was like, “Is this real?” I couldn’t comprehend what happened. I had never in my whole life experienced anything like that. It rocked my sense of security. I don’t care who you are, what you believe in, or what political party you belong to. If there’s one thing everyone can agree on it’s that when you call 911, someone should answer the phone.
I have no idea what happened to the woman because none of us exchanged information. So I got back into my car and drove down the street to the Phillips 66 gas station. I was shaking as I parked my car. I was so overwhelmed that I ended up sitting in the lot for like 40 minutes just crying. I had been working on this huge event to help refugees earn a meaningful income, something positive in the community, and then seeing this happen made me realize how broken and dilapidated things really are. I don’t even know if that woman is alive. She could have died and that could have been preventable. Now if I call 911, I know nobody is ever going to be there to help us.
I’m sure there are so many incidents happening that aren’t being reported. When I posted about the incident I experienced, so many people reached out to me and told me similar things. Some even sent me private messages like, “I saw a car accident, called 911, and nothing happened.” The onus is put on citizens to find help on their own. You have a few seconds to decide how you’re going to handle something, and if the professionals are not responding, then we have to step up and do the best we can with what we have without tools or training.
About two minutes after I hung up, I received an automated call back from 911. It gave me three options — firefighters, EMT, or police — but, at that point, none of them were what I needed. I really needed to talk to someone about the system. So I sat there thinking about our leadership in the City of St. Louis. What is it going to take? Does it have to be one of their children or parents for someone to care?
No human ever called me back after the incident that day to make sure anyone was alive or okay. Why are we still sitting on the COVID money from the federal government? It makes me reevaluate my longevity in St. Louis. It doesn’t matter how many gardens you build or how many tulips you plant if you don’t have safety.
I live in Affton and I know that when I call 911, someone will answer the phone. My job is working for the Loop Special Business District, putting events on in the area. I also work for UCity doing social media, email blasts, and helping to promote businesses. When I’m in UCity, I call 911 and the non-emergency line for different situations and I’ve never had someone not pick up. In one second, someone will answer, “Hi, what’s your emergency and where are you located?” Why would you want to open a business or buy a house in a place where you can’t reach 911? Feeling safe is important.
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Jessica Bueler is the Executive Director of Welcome Neighbor STL.
Colleen O’Connell Smyth / Humans of St. Louis contributed to this photo story.
This story is a collaboration between Humans of St. Louis and Forward Through Ferguson for #Transforming911, an accountability and advocacy tool that examines St. Louis’ 911 system and serves as a call to reimagine public safety.
Learn more and get involved at transforming911.org.
