Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writer
With every new year, it's murder for Neal Smither and his crew.
Suicide, too.
As owner of Crime Scene Cleaners, Smither's job is to clean up the bloody messes left behind when people kill each other or themselves - and those first few weeks after Jan. 1 are his busiest time of year.
All that holiday frivolity and togetherness may sound good in songs and movies, and a lot of people do indeed get mighty joyful - but experts say there is also a dark flip side of sadness, rage and depression that flares between Thanksgiving and post-New Year's.
Most people hold their feelings together during the run-up to the new year, but once the holiday letdown sets it in, calls to suicide hot lines nearly double and homicides hit their highest rate of the year. Police officers, crisis counselors and people like Smither put in some long days and nights.
"People have all kinds of reasons then for committing suicide or killing someone, and I've heard them all," said Smither, who with his Oakland-based crew cleans about 1,000 crime scenes nationwide every year. "It can be, 'I'm really sad because I couldn't buy my kids the presents I wanted to,' or 'I'm alone, woe is me,' or they're broke, so boom - they hang themselves, slit their wrists or shoot themselves."
Nationally, the greatest number of homicides in any given year happen just after New Year's Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Index. Suicides spike right after New Year's.
"People tend to postpone getting any help for the blues during the holidays, when they need them the most, so they go into a sort of state of suspended denial," said Eve Meyer, executive director of the San Francisco Suicide Prevention hot line. "So the period leading right up to New Year can actually be kind of slow for us. But then it all sinks in.
"Right after the first football game on Jan. 1, the calls start pouring in," she said. "Our volume goes up by 20 percent right away and builds from there."
"That expectation that this time we will all pull together, my family will finally love me, I will find someone to love in this magical time of year - all that stuff looks great in the magazines and movies, but it rarely really happens like that," Meyer said.
Smither's crews see the ultimate result if a dangerously anguished person doesn't get help.
"My volume picks up about 5 percent after New Year, and it's never pretty," said Smither, who as a Navy veteran is anything but squeamish.
"It's saddest when it involves kids or very old people," Smither said, humming "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" as he scrubbed down a coroner's van in Martinez on a recent job. "Not everyone can do this job. You have to have a pretty strong stomach."
Meyer said she dispenses three "rules for coping" to emotionally vulnerable people at this time of year.
"First, find someone that you have to take care of," she said. It helps give you perspective and feel needed.
"Then, find someone to take care of you. And lastly, remember that people will love you in December as they loved you in May. If your family was dysfunctional earlier in the year, they will be dysfunctional now. So let go of any idea that everything will suddenly change and be great.
"If you do get together, just tell yourself, 'We're going to be typically us as a family,' " Meyer cautioned. "And if you do feel bad, pick up the phone and call us or a friend.
"Don't put off getting help."
Suicide, too.
As owner of Crime Scene Cleaners, Smither's job is to clean up the bloody messes left behind when people kill each other or themselves - and those first few weeks after Jan. 1 are his busiest time of year.
All that holiday frivolity and togetherness may sound good in songs and movies, and a lot of people do indeed get mighty joyful - but experts say there is also a dark flip side of sadness, rage and depression that flares between Thanksgiving and post-New Year's.
Most people hold their feelings together during the run-up to the new year, but once the holiday letdown sets it in, calls to suicide hot lines nearly double and homicides hit their highest rate of the year. Police officers, crisis counselors and people like Smither put in some long days and nights.
"People have all kinds of reasons then for committing suicide or killing someone, and I've heard them all," said Smither, who with his Oakland-based crew cleans about 1,000 crime scenes nationwide every year. "It can be, 'I'm really sad because I couldn't buy my kids the presents I wanted to,' or 'I'm alone, woe is me,' or they're broke, so boom - they hang themselves, slit their wrists or shoot themselves."
Nationally, the greatest number of homicides in any given year happen just after New Year's Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Index. Suicides spike right after New Year's.
"People tend to postpone getting any help for the blues during the holidays, when they need them the most, so they go into a sort of state of suspended denial," said Eve Meyer, executive director of the San Francisco Suicide Prevention hot line. "So the period leading right up to New Year can actually be kind of slow for us. But then it all sinks in.
"Right after the first football game on Jan. 1, the calls start pouring in," she said. "Our volume goes up by 20 percent right away and builds from there."
Pushed over the edge
Most people who start feeling suicidal during the holidays are dealing with depression already, and what pushes them over the edge is the conflict between grim reality and an anticipation of idyllic togetherness, bounteous presents and yuletide joy. Ceaseless ads of families showering each other with love and packages, and songs playing everywhere about this being "the most wonderful time of the year" don't help."That expectation that this time we will all pull together, my family will finally love me, I will find someone to love in this magical time of year - all that stuff looks great in the magazines and movies, but it rarely really happens like that," Meyer said.
Smither's crews see the ultimate result if a dangerously anguished person doesn't get help.
"My volume picks up about 5 percent after New Year, and it's never pretty," said Smither, who as a Navy veteran is anything but squeamish.
Job not for everyone
In just the first week of 2010, Smither's crews had to scrub down streets, bathrooms, cars, jail cells, kitchens and driveways all the way from Oakland to San Jose, with a side job in Texas."It's saddest when it involves kids or very old people," Smither said, humming "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" as he scrubbed down a coroner's van in Martinez on a recent job. "Not everyone can do this job. You have to have a pretty strong stomach."
Meyer said she dispenses three "rules for coping" to emotionally vulnerable people at this time of year.
"First, find someone that you have to take care of," she said. It helps give you perspective and feel needed.
"Then, find someone to take care of you. And lastly, remember that people will love you in December as they loved you in May. If your family was dysfunctional earlier in the year, they will be dysfunctional now. So let go of any idea that everything will suddenly change and be great.
"If you do get together, just tell yourself, 'We're going to be typically us as a family,' " Meyer cautioned. "And if you do feel bad, pick up the phone and call us or a friend.
"Don't put off getting help."
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