"We are still going through such a horrendous traumatic time and loss, and we're left alone to navigate it, and it's not OK." Mimi Conder is calling for mandatory police support for families whose loved ones take their own lives.
What!? Why? Well, Reader, because she found it all a bit difficult to cope at the time, and so SOMEONE NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS…
She has started a petition calling for the introduction of Jason's Law, named after her late husband, so that bereaved families in cases similar to her own can benefit from the guidance of a family support officer (FLO). "I just feel like I couldn't grieve because I was so overwhelmed trying to understand what the processes were," she tells the BBC. Thames Valley Police currently employs FLOs to help explain criminal investigation processes to bereaved families, but this is not applicable in cases of suicide.
Because suicide is no longer a crime. It used to be, but our modern, enlightened society thought that was an outdated view.
Mimi says she did not expect an FLO to be a "shoulder to cry on". Instead, the family's petition calls for trained officers to "ensure consistent support, communication, and guidance during investigations, inquests, and the immediate aftermath". "If I had someone there... then 100% I feel like I would have been able to process it a lot quicker than I did, or am still doing," she explains.
The police are a law enforcement agency, if a role like this is needed for people who are incapable of navigating the systems and organisations they need to deal with after a loved one commits suicide, it should be filled by another organisation, or charity.
The government responds to all petitions that get more than 10,000 signatures.
But not always as you'd hope, so bear that in mind, Mimi...
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