Senior patrol expands
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The Lyon County Senior Patrol has recently completed another round of training for a grand total of 19 trained individuals to work the streets of Lyon County assisting law enforcement.
According to a 2007 article in the Gazette, the Lyon County Senior Patrol is a volunteer program that allows residents ages 55 and over to perform various duties in the county and assist law enforcement by doing vacation home checks and welfare checks. The Senior Patrol is a non-confrontational patrol program that serves all of Lyon County including Emporia. Volunteers are not enforcement officers but serve as “ambassadors.”
Cheryl Patton, director of Lyon County RSVP, said with the new senior patrol members the program can run longer shifts and can now run weekends — something it was unable to do with lower volunteer numbers. Patton said the increased hours will allow for more welfare checks and more home checks. Home checks can now be done on the weekends, when people are most likely to be gone, Patton said.
Patton said she just got word this week that senior patrol members are able to do welfare checks at complexes and apartments. She said welfare checks are a very important part of the senior patrol’s duties because sometimes it’s the only human contact the person gets that day.
The senior patrol has taken off, Patton said, and now has a waiting list of people wanting to volunteer.
Anyone wanting services from the senior patrol such as welfare checks or home checks should call the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office at 342-5545.
For more information about Lyon County RSVP, call 342-6119.
Other programs available through Lyon County RSVP:
F Donations of cell phones are needed for Cell Phones for Seniors, a program that provides free cell phones to seniors for 911 use. Seniors interested in having a cell phone should call RSVP.
F Vials of LIFE is available at the RSVP office. The vial is a free kit for residents of Lyon County age 55 and older or anyone with a serious medical condition to store important medical information that emergency personnel need in time of crisis.
F Lyon County Yellow Dot kits are available through the RSVP office. A yellow dot is placed on the outside corner of the lower rear windshield (driver’s side) indicating that that medical information is in the glove box in the vehicle.