Preventing 200 suicides and the photo that went around the world. Kevin Briggs, the Guardian of The Golden Gate Bridge

Welcome to episode 197 with Kevin Briggs, who is a retired sergeant for the California Highway Patrol, known as the "Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge”.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California.  It’s about 200 feet above the water and there are 6 lanes of traffic that cross the bridge as well as a separate pathway for pedestrians and cyclists.  It is one of the most famous landmarks in the world, partly because of the incredible architecture but also because it’s reputation as a suicide hot spot.

Part of Kevin’s job, as part of the Highway Patrol was to respond to calls for anyone attempting suicide by jumping from the bride.  He was the person responsible for talking them back over the railing and keep them safe.  It’s estimated that Kevin helped around 200 individuals over his 20 years on the force.

In this episode I chat to Kevin about joining the force and how, as a new police officer, he had to learn very quickly how to talk people off the bridge despite having no formal training in this at all.  We chat about what it was like to do this 4 or 5 times a month, just as part of his job and how his approach changed over the years.

We chat about how to talk to someone about suicide and the importance of actually listening and the difference between having these conversations in day to day life versus having them on a ledge, more than 200 feet above water.

We also chat about the picture of Kevin talking a man off the edge of the bridge, how that day played out and what it was like when that photo became famous all over the world.

I’m sure you’ve seen that photo; it does the rounds on social media all the time!  It was incredible to chat to Kevin about that day and also all the other days and the work he does now. 

He has so much experience in this space and so much knowledge and it was a real pleasure to chat!

There is everything you need to know about Kevin’s work and links to his Tedx at www.pivotal-points.com and you can follow him on social media @guardianofthegoldengate

You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com.

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Thanks for listening!