The St. Charles Parish TRIAD was established in 1997 with an eye toward reducing crime against senior citizens by providing pre and post victimization assistance through exchanging resources and communications with the elders of the community.
TRIAD members meet multiple times a year to discuss measures that go toward meeting that goal.
One Triad program is “Adopt a Senior,” in which a police officer adopts a senior with special needs, such as limited mobility or medical problems. The officer checks on the senior regularly and assists them with their questions or concerns. For example, if a senior doesn’t answer a call from their officer, the latter would likely go to their home to check on them. The program is intended to supplement care already being provided by other persons or agencies.
Deputies will make arrangements to call on his or her adoptee on a regular basis. During each visit or phone call, special attention will be paid to the seniors’ needs. In the event that additional help is required, TRIAD will be notified.
Lupe Sweeney of Des Allemands is one member of TRIAD, formerly serving as the group’s secretary and now regularly attending meetings and giving her time. She said Adopt-a-Senior gives those involved a lifeline to feel safe.
“We try to monitor seniors who may need that extra helping hand,” Sweeney said. “We want them to have someone they can easily contact to help them.”
TRIAD has also implemented use of a flashing “911 Crimewatch emergency light” device that a senior can utilize in case of emergency, such as an attempted robbery. The Triad gives seniors the device, which are installed in front of the home and easily activated to attract the necessary attention. The light provides 45 minutes of emergency flashing, which alerts neighbors of an emergency and helps those responding find your home.
“They can tell (friends, family and/or neighbors) that my house has a big flashing light on the porch if something happens and I need help,” Sweeney said.
Another element the TRIAD has introduced, Sweeney explained, is the File of Life, in which senior citizens are given a card, free of charge, designed to hang from a senior’s refrigerator. It contains a resident’s complete medical history, including medications he or she may currently be taking. The idea behind the practice is that in the event of an emergency, having instant access to that medical history could save the time and be the difference between life and death. Knowing a woman is a diabetic, for example, would inform the paramedic on scene that the patient’s sugar level needs checking.
“It helps a paramedic on the scene so that they don’t give (the senior) anything that could potentially hurt them or even kill them,” Sweeney said.
The File of Life comes with a plastic holder, a magnetic strip to hold the packet in place on the refrigerator, a small packet to be placed in the vehicle’s glove compartment and two stickers to be prominently placed on the outside of the residents’ home and on the windshield of the vehicle. The stickers serve as visible alerts to emergency medical technicians that the home’s occupants’ medical histories and special conditions are on the file card inside.
TRIAD also offers self-defense classes for seniors and offers educational materials and information booths at various events.
Be the first to comment