GILL – Earlier this summer, Stacey Hamel heard a rumor that since the barriers were placed on the French King Bridge in August 2023, neither Gill nor Erving first responders have been called to the bridge for rescue of people in crisis, or recovery of people who have jumped. After speaking to police and fire departments in both towns, Hamel could share the good news.

“Each [department] has confirmed that they have not been called out for any rescue or recovery calls to the French King Bridge,” Hamel stated in her Facebook post to the French King Bridge Suicide Prevention Barrier Project page. “This is what we worked for.”

In a follow-up conversation with Hamel, she explains that she called the police and fire departments in Gill and Erving to confirm if there had been no rescue or recovery calls that were legitimately related to a suicidal person at the bridge, or for someone attempting to jump.

“They definitely had some calls, but most of them were either false alarms, or they were people that weren’t necessarily suicidal. They’ve had calls that somebody was suicidal and talking about a bridge, but it wasn’t directly related to this bridge,” Hamel said. “That’s pretty amazing.”

Hamel has been personally connected to the barrier installation project since her son, Bryan Hamel, is believed to have taken his life at the French King Bridge in 2018. She’s spearheaded efforts to get the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to install the bridge barriers, with local and state officials and citizens advocating to see change.

“The science and the data shows that when somebody is interrupted in their attempt, they don’t continue it, and most often they don’t attempt again,” Hamel said.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), ”Barrier installation is a proven method of increasing this crucial time for individuals at risk for suicide by jumping. These barriers act as a delay or deterrent to an individual at risk, providing more time to get through the intense, often brief, moment of suicide crisis.”

First responders grateful

Gill Police Chief Christopher Redmond, Erving Fire Chief Philip Wonkka and Erving Police Chief Robert Holst each confirmed that their departments have not responded for a rescue or recovery from the bridge.

“[Stacey Hamel] reached out to me, and we went back to the records,” Wonkka said. “We have not been called out for a rescue attempt or somebody out there in the throes of a mental health crisis.”

Prior to the barriers being placed, Wonkka said the Erving Fire Department would respond to the bridge between 10 to 15 times in a month. Holst explained that Erving Police would also respond to these calls for rescue or recovery, and he cites the barriers as the reason there have been no calls of this nature since their implementation.

“It is working,” Holst said. “It would be nice to put barriers up on every high bridge, that would be a wonderful thing.”

Asked if Massachusetts State Police have responded within the last year to a rescue or recovery call, Holst said he has not been made aware of any state police calls. State police communicate with Erving police for such incidents. State police have not confirmed if they have been dispatched since the barriers went up for a rescue or recovery call.

Redmond explained the Gill Police Department has likewise not received calls for rescue from the bridge or a recovery from the Connecticut River below.

A May 2023 article in the Boston Globe about the bridge barriers found that from 2020 to 2022, 13 people were intercepted from the bridge, and four people died jumping from the bridge, according to police records. The article explained that from 2009 to 2019, Erving Police received 315 calls, with 64 people taken into custody and 30 large investigations for recovery.

Prior to the installation of the barriers last year, several departments from across the area, including fire, police, EMS, dive teams and state police would all respond when a person goes over the bridge. Since the installation, Holst notes the importance of the barriers as a preventative method for suicidal people, but also a benefit for first responders who would intercept someone on the bridge, or recover a body from the waters below.

“People in general think we’re used to this type of stuff,” Chief Holst said. “But you don’t ever get used to that type of stuff.”

More work to do

Hamel worked for several years with local and state representatives to see the barriers placed, including Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, who has worked to improve safety at the bridge for nearly a decade.

Whipps explained that in years prior, cameras were installed on the bridge to better track if someone is on the bridge, or to confirm if someone went over the bridge. However, she and other lawmakers knew more could be done, and she worked alongside Hamel to see physical barriers installed.

In hearing the news that there have been no rescue or recovery calls, she says, “There’s so much to celebrate there.” She adds that although the barriers work, more can be done before one is needed.

“Putting barriers up on every bridge in the state will not solve the mental health crisis we’re experiencing,” Whipps said, adding that it needs to be determined “how do we provide services and care to somebody before they feel they need to do that?”

While working with others on addressing mental health, Hamel explains her efforts were focused on the moments when someone is on the bridge, and what can be done to deter them in the moment of impulse, compared to mental health support ahead of time.

“When you have someone like my son, where there were no signs and it was a crisis moment for him and a decision that he made at that moment, no intervention is going to help that. No sign that says ‘Call 988’ is going to help that,” Hamel said. “A physical barrier would have.”

In sharing the news that the barriers have worked to prevent rescue or recovery calls, Hamel has received praise on her Facebook post for her efforts, although her goal in sharing was not to accept praise for her work, but to let proponents know they’ve made a difference by speaking up.

“I wanted them to know that our voices make a difference, and it made a difference to some somebody else’s son, or somebody else’s dad, and that’s the only reason I did it,” Hamel said about her post. “I can’t fix my situation, but I know can say, ‘I’m sure we affected other people’s lives. I may never know it, and that’s OK.’”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.