This is for the heroes who don’t wear capes.
The heroes who sit in traffic for 4–5 hours of their day, provide for families and still have the time to save lives.
A few days ago, someone reached out to us on Twitter. We’ll call him Tony.
Tony needed help with a friend who was having suicidal thoughts. We’ll call this friend Bruce.
We got Tony on the phone with a member of our team, trying to figure out how best we could help Bruce.
Here’s how that conversation went:
Us: Hi Tony, thanks for reaching out. How can we help?
Tony: Bruce is having financial problems and doesn’t know what to do. He’s scared. The stress is getting too much and he is contemplating taking his life”
Us: Alright Tony, is Bruce okay right now? Where is he?Is he stable? Can we reach him?”
Tony: Yes, he’s fine. I spoke to him, told him everything would be okay. He has a pregnant wife. We talked about how much they needed him regardless of his current situation. I managed to get him some money to take some of the weight off him.”
Us: Tony..
Tony: Yes?
Us: Um, you saved his life you know that? You’ve done so much for Bruce with one conversation. You’ve helped him see life differently, given him financial and social support. What do you need us for?
Tony: “Well, I thought you could help.”
Us: We can. We have numbers for National Suicide Prevention Initiative. We can find a therapist and sponsor some sessions as well, but you deserve a lot of credit for this.
Tony: Ah, thank you. That would be great actually. Let me speak to Bruce. If he is interested, I’ll give you a call back. Thank you very much.
You know what Tony did right? He didn’t blame Bruce for how he was feeling. He didn’t make him feel terrible for not knowing how to cope with his current financial situation.
He validated his feelings and provided solutions. We don’t know how much his wife knows about this, but her and her unborn child almost lost their husband and father.
A few days after, we contacted Tony to follow up. His message made all this work we do worth it. It’s not always about therapy. It’s about accessible mental health care and support. A friend you can talk to when heaven doesn’t seem so close. Also, pray for your friends. This is important.
Back to Tony and his message. We really want to do something special for him by the way. We just might. In fact, we will.
Here’s what he said:
“Sorry. Yes I have been I’m touch with him since then. Raising funds to get him a small apartment in Ikotun and also keeping up with him generally.
We read that, and could have sworn someone started cutting onions nearby. You go Tony!
Sure enough there’s still A LOT of work to be done on making us more mentally aware, but let’s celebrate the progress. The small victories. The Tonys who are stuck in traffic saving lives with one phone call.
Happy World Health Day guys. Remember, your mental health matters!
