When Tempe resident John Connors, 50, jumped to his death from the Twin Palms Hotel on Jan. 29, police and fire crews had no time to spare for Connors' wife, who witnessed the suicide.
But Tempe's Crisis Assistance Response Team 7 staff and volunteers rushed to the scene to make sure she was not alone.
C.A.R.E. 7 assists police and firefighters on traumatic calls by supporting people facing the death of a loved one, victims of domestic violence or someone who witnessed a traumatic event.
"We deal with death, grief, crime victims, robbery victims and witnesses of car accidents," program director Lori Garcia said. "They are not happy things."
C.A.R.E. 7 intern Sara Friedman, an ASU social services graduate student, said the time spent with Connors' wife was as important as the police work going on at the same time.
"We spent the time comforting her and calming her down," she said. "We helped her tell her friends and family about the death and helped her set up a game plan for her for the next few weeks."
The crisis response team, based out of Tempe Fire Station 6 at Rural Road and University Drive, averages about 100 calls per month and is on-call 24 hours a day.
The program, modeled after Phoenix's crisis response team, was created after the Tempe police and fire departments felt the need for additional on-scene resources, such as emotional support and social services.
Since C.A.R.E. 7 began assisting emergency teams in 1997, fire and police crews have had more time to respond to other calls.
Todd Lunn, a Station 6 firefighter and paramedic, said the crisis response team has taken a huge load off fire and police crews' shoulders.
"They are the most valuable tools we've gotten in the past few years," Lunn said. "Sometimes we are so busy on scene that those people [victims] feel overlooked in the process. We are satisfied that when we leave a scene that they are getting help and being taken care of."
Rhonda Sterack, a C.A.R.E. 7 staff member, said the police and fire crews they assist are thankful.
"One of our main goals is to get police and fire back on the street as soon as possible," she said. "In the past, a whole engine would be kept off the streets just to take care of kids on scene."
But the job is not always easy for C.A.R.E. 7 staff and its 35 volunteers, who see their fair share of dead bodies, domestic violence and grieving families each month.
"Sometimes the calls are rough," Sterack said. "It especially affects me when things happen to ASU students, since I have a daughter who goes there."
Sterack has responded to many student-involved deaths, suicides and car accidents over the past few years, including the still unexplained death of Andrew Tucker, 19, who was found by ASU police in his Best Hall dorm room last month.
Friedman said she remembered the first time she saw a dead body on a call.
"It was hard," she said. "But you get there, and you have to just put aside those issues and be able to help family and friends with whatever you can do."
C.A.R.E. 7 is still looking for volunteers. Training will begin today. Call (480) 350-2969 for more information.
Reach the reporter at
kristina.davis@asu.edu.
