If you feel someone is suicidal you can call 911 and an ambulance can transport a person for psychiatric evaluation. If a person refuses transport there may be an option to involuntarily hospitalize them which is commonly referred to as a section 12. An emergency section 12 may be issued when a person suffering a mental illness is unable to protect themselves and/or are at substantial risk of harming themselves and/or others.Our Officers and Duxbury Fire Department Firefighters/Paramedics are here to help you get to the hospital to get the help they need.

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Massachusetts General Law Chapter 123 Sections 12 deals with Court Ordered treatment for Mental Health (section 12).
If you are a blood relative, spouse, or guardian you may petition the court to have your family member brought before the court for evaluation. A judge will decide whether secure treatment is nessessary at a hearing.
 

To print a copy of this forms you can click on the link below:

Section 12 Application

This form can be filled out and submitted to the Office of the Clerk Magistrate at the Plymouth District Court or any District Court whose jurisdiction where you may reside.  These documents will be reviewed by a Judge and Medical Clinician who will determine a course of action and will in most cases issue a Court Order for an individual to be committed for Court Ordered Treatment for a specific period of time.  This can be done without the services of an attorney.

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William James College INTERFACE Referral service
In addition to the resources on this web site, the William James INTERFACE Referral Service maintains a mental health and wellness referral help line Monday through Friday, 9 am-5 pm, at 888-244-6843 (toll free). This is a free, confidential referral service for individuals across the lifespan living in participating communities. Callers are matched with licensed mental health providers from their extensive database. Each referral meets the location, insurance, and specialty needs of the caller.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Massachusetts has developed a "A Road Map through the Criminal Justice System for Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families." Click here to read this comprehensive document which should answer any questions you may have.

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Warning Signs of Suicide

Hope­less­ness, helplessness
Feeling like a burden
Pre­oc­cu­pa­tion with death or suicide
With­drawal from fam­ily, friends, sports, social activities
Dras­tic changes in behavior
Depression/Anxiety/Eating Disorders
Giv­ing away possessions
Tak­ing unnec­es­sary risks
Increased use of alco­hol or drugs
Lack of energy
Unable to think clearly, can’t make deci­sions, can’t see a future with­out pain
Loss of inter­est in work, school, hob­bies, social activities
Declin­ing school performance/increased absences from school
Changes in appetite, sleep­ing habits, per­sonal appearance
Sud­den cheer­ful­ness after a period of depression
Recur­ring themes of death or self-destruction in writ­ing assign­ments or art projects
Peer pres­sure, bul­ly­ing, inter­net bullying
Finan­cial worries
Self-imposed wor­ries and stress about suc­ceed­ing in school, sports, work
http://www.masspreventssuicide.org

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How To Talk With Some­one Who May Be At Risk of Suicide

If you know some­one who might be think­ing of sui­cide, you can help them by lis­ten­ing. Very often peo­ple who think about sui­cide feel like they have no other options, like they have no con­trol over their lives, and that no one cares about them. Keep in mind that talk­ing with them about sui­cide will NOT put the idea into their minds. Often times, it is a great relief to some­one that you have noticed that they are in pain and are will­ing to help.

If the per­son is in immi­nent risk of hurt­ing them­selves, do not leave them alone. Call for help or 911.
If this is not at a cri­sis stage, offer to sit and talk with the per­son and give them your full attention.
Tell them that you care, there is hope, and that you are will­ing to help them.
If the sub­ject of sui­cide is hard to bring up, ask the ques­tion a lit­tle dif­fer­ently. For exam­ple, you could say “Do you some­times feel so bad that you think of killing yourself?”

Help­ing them real­ize that there are options other than sui­cide and that they do have some con­trol over their lives may help them real­ize that sui­cide is not the only option. Try not to be judg­men­tal, give advice, min­i­mize their feel­ings, or solve their prob­lems. You should never try to help a sui­ci­dal per­son by your­self. They need a lot of atten­tion, sup­port and a pro­fes­sional assessment. Do not agree to keep this a secret. This is a mat­ter of life or death and you need to be able to get the per­son help. http://www.masspreventssuicide.org

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Click Here for an Emergency Service Program. Every Emergency Service Program provides behavioral health crisis assessment, intervention and stabilization services, 24 hours per day/7 days per week/365 days per year.

The DMH Resource Guide is a directory of the DMH, its Areas, Service Site Offices, facilities and contact information. Click Here for the 2016 DMH Resource Guide.

Click Here for Veteran's Mental Health Services.

Massachusetts Suicide Prevention Program Information

Crisis Hotlines

The Samaritans (877) 870-4673

United Way (508) 532-2255

National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800) 273-8255

National Hopeline Network (800) 784-2433

Nineline.org Hotline for Children and Teens (800) 999-9999

The Trevor Project (LGBT and youth questioning) (866) 488-7386

Crisis Text Line: Text “START” to 741-741

Veterans Crisis Line: (800) 273-8255 press 1