Dealing with suicide or being a "parking garage suicide expert" isn't part of Larry Cohen's job description.
Yet, after five suicides in two years, the head of the Lancaster Parking Authority decided to share his experiences, hoping to help his peers in the parking business.
"If my story motivates you to put initiatives in place for suicide prevention and saves lives, there really isn't a better one to be written," Cohen wrote in the August issue of The Parking Professional, an industry magazine.
The city's Prince Street Parking Garage had been the site of seven suicides by jumping between 1989 and May 2014. Three of those occurred within six months, starting at the end of December 2013.
In the wake of those suicides, Cohen said, he was getting a number of phone calls - about one a week - from other parking officials. His article grew out of that and out of a presentation he made for industry officials in April. His research had turned up very little about suicides from garages.
In his article, he discusses steps the garage has taken to deter suicides. That includes training staff and installing a fence at the Prince Street garage earlier this year.
No one has jumped since.
'Difficult to work through'
"It's very difficult to work through," Cohen said Wednesday. "Hopefully, me going through it will help other folks have an easier road going through it."
In the article, Cohen outlines various steps the authority has taken, including installing no-trespassing and suicide prevention posters and holding a Suicide Summit for law enforcement, community members, authority officials and mental health professionals.
He also discusses the decision to install fencing and use security patrols, and how to deal with the media.
"I encourage you to be proactive and prepared for what may never happen, rather than improvise when the unimaginable occurs," Cohen concludes in the article.
"Begin the conversation now, before emotions, stress, and the media are at your door. I hope it never happens in your facility, but I also hope you'll learn from our experiences and be as prepared as possible."
Lancaster County Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 394-2631.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
The Trevor Project, 1-866-488-7386. Crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people, ages 13-24, thetrevorproject.org.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, afsp.org.