What do you do when you see odd behaviour that goes on for a fairly long time in a public place? It’s not illegal or immoral behaviour. Just odd. There doesn’t seem to be a number to call for that.
Last year I wanted to help a woman who had fallen into brambles, but I couldn’t reach her because she was on a hillside, and she swore at me to stay away. In that instance, I called 911 because I didn’t know how else to get her out of an impossible situation. I regretted it later because I am fairly sure she didn’t want any contact with police, but they helped her anyway.
Today, I came across a similarly awkward situation. My apartment overlooks the marina and in front of it is a harbourfront walkway that is separated from the ocean channel by a wall. Early this afternoon I saw two men sitting on the rocks beside the wall, looking out at the water. There was nothing odd in this, and I didn’t think too much about it.
About an hour later, I looked out of my window again and saw that one of the two men had left and the other was poking at rocks in the water with a metal pole. The pole had a knob at the top and looked a lot like the top of a flag pole. I wondered what he was doing, but thought he might be looking for something. He had some belongings behind him, and I hoped they would not get wet. The tide was coming in.
Yet another hour later, he was still out there, poking at rocks. He had not moved more than a metre or so from where I first saw him. He was up to his thighs in the water, and his shoes and shorts were wet. He had moved his possessions up towards the seawall, and they seemed to be ok.
I wondered about the man and his circumstances. He appeared well-dressed, with a jaunty hat and clean clothes, so he didn’t seem to be unhoused or un-cared-for. But he continued to poke about under the rocks, digging up little muddy plumes under the water.
Some time later, at least another half an hour, he continued to poke at rocks so I went online to see if there was any suitable service that I could call for help. I didn’t need the regular emergency services, so 911 was not an option. I hoped to find some social services agency that might come out to help this man and found that 811 was a possible option. I hesitated, though, because today is a public holiday and I didn’t want to take any social worker away from their family if they weren’t needed.
It looked as though this man had both mental health problems and a support network in place, but it worried me that he spent nearly three hours poking at rocks under the water. I was on the verge of calling that 811 number, when he started to pack up to leave.
By this time the water was very close to the seawall, and I was afraid he would not be able to find a way back to the path. However, he put all his bits and pieces into a backpack, picked up his pole and climbed back over the seawall on to the walkway. Then he just left.
Clearly, he had enough capability to know when it was time to go, and my worrying was not of any value. I hope he got home okay. Even so, I still wonder who I should call in situations like this. Maybe I don’t need to call anyone, but a non-emergency “should I do anything?” number would be nice to have.
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Update: The number I should have called is 211. It provides links to basic needs like food and shelter, mental health and addictions support, legal and financial assistance, supports for seniors, newcomers, and much more.
I have also discovered a very handy local resource guide entitled Surviving in Nanaimo which I have downloaded to my computer for future reference.
Snowbird of Paradise 
Is there a non-emergency number for the police? Or, I think BC has a 211 number to call to find out about available services. They probably also have a website. A few years ago I came across a woman standing in a downtown parking spot pushing leaves towards the curb with her foot. This went on for at least 15-20 minutes. I had parked, gone into a store to buy something and she was still there when I came out. She was well dressed and well groomed, but her behaviour was odd. A couple of store owners noticed her as well. I wasn’t really sure what to do but decided to call the non-emergency police number. I thought she had mental health issues and was concerned for her safety. I left after I called so not sure what happened but I hope she got some help.
I thought about using the non-emergency police number, but for some folks the police are not welcome. That’s why I was looking for a social services emergency number.
The woman you saw did seem to need some sort of help, but it’s hard to know what kind of help is needed.
It is hard to know, especially when the person isn’t an obvious danger to themselves or others but their behaviour is odd.
Right. I couldn’t decide whether or not someone should intervene. As it turned out, no-one was needed.
I now know I could have called 211. (I have added an update to the post.)
Some people live on the edge more than is comfortable for us to observe. What you observed was a person who looked like they were not going to be safe with the tide moving in. It’s extremely hard to tell if someone is needing help when their behavior is peculiar to us. Some police departments in my area have mental health professionals on staff. I wonder if you could find out if your police department have mental health professionals?
That’s a good thought, Lorna. I’ll see what I can find out.
I now realize I could have called 211 for a link to an appropriate resource. In the process of finding this out I also discovered a handy local directory. Now I’m all set for the next puzzling encounter.
I’m so glad your community has great resources!!
Good for you, more people should pay attention..
Thanks, June, but I couldn’t NOT pay attention! He was right outside my window. 🙂
211 doesn’t seem to be widely known. The only reason I know about it is because of my time volunteering with the United Way. The UW was instrumental in getting 211 up and running in Alberta.
I feel as though I should have know this already, but I’m glad I know it now!
Many people don’t know we have 211 in the Bay Area, in CA also for lots of resources! We also have 311 for non emergency police, however, I’ve not had much luck with them…..
I wonder why they don’t advertise that 211 number. It seems to be a great resource.
Yes! I don’t even know how I learned about it many years ago!?
Hi Anne, thanks for sharing now I know we have a number to call when in doubt
You are most welcome, Myriam. And thanks for dropping by Snowbird of Paradise.
My immediate thought was that he was using a metal detector, perhaps searching for the wedding ring he lost around that area.
I had the same thought at first, but it wasn’t a metal detector. Just a pole. He was very persistent, though!