Senior Call-in Program Needs Help

A recent article in the Northwest Herald hailed the merits of the Woodstock Police Department’s Senior Call-in Program. What it stated, but didn’t emphasize, is that, after several years of operation, participation in the program has dropped to one (1) person! That’s one senior citizen in Woodstock who faithfully calls in every morning to report that he didn’t die in the past 24 hours.

Those who know me, know I can be a little flip about death. I myself may look at it quite differently than many because of my own studies and experience.

Leaving that aside and perhaps for a future article, this Program has value to residents in Woodstock. If it were actively promoted, participation would be growing, not falling. Just a few months ago there were (only) five seniors in the Program.

Just today I talked with key people in two different businesses. They have many customers who are seniors and did not know of this program. Each is willing to place fliers on counters at the businesses.

Here’s how it works. A “qualified” resident (more about “qualified” in a moment) registers with the Police Department. Registration is simple, easy and quick. Fill out one form; sign two forms; provide a key to your front door. That’s it.

What happens next?

Every morning the senior citizen (age 65 or older) then calls the police department’s main number between 6:00-10:00AM to report that he is alive and well. “Hi, this is Gus Philpott, and I’m still kicking. Good bye.” That’s all there is to it. Pretty simple, eh?

What happens if you don’t call by 10:00AM? The police telecommunicator’s blood pressure starts to rise and s/he will call you. If you don’t answer, the telecommunicator (you know, the dispatcher) will send an officer to your door. The officer will knock. If you don’t answer, he’ll let himself in with the key that you provided. If you are ill, he’ll call for help. If you’re dead, he’ll call someone else.

What happens if he can’t get in? (Hint: provide a key that works. Don’t change your locks and forget to send a new key to the PD.) You know that form that you signed that you didn’t have to fill in? The officer will get in, even if he has to use force to open the door, but it probably won’t be like in the movies. He won’t shoot the lock off.

Now for the few kickers that will keep you out of the program. Remember that word “qualified”?

If you have a relative in McHenry County, you don’t “qualify.”
If you don’t live alone, you don’t qualify.
If you don’t have a phone, you don’t qualify; well, you do, but how will you call?

How many seniors are there in Woodstock? At Walden Oaks alone, there are 135.seniors who live there.

I called Senior Services Associates (SSA) to ask how many seniors there are in Woodstock, and they will let me know their estimate. Interestingly enough, when I called Senior Services today, they were just at that very moment discussing the Northwest Herald article about this Program.

About your relatives… How many seniors in Woodstock have relatives in McHenry County who will check on them every day? And, further, how many seniors want their relatives calling them every day?

The information on the PD’s website includes this wording:

“In order to better serve the needs of the community’s elder citizens and to give them not only a sense of independence, but also to alleviate the necessity of a relative or friend checking their well-being daily…”

Just how is this necessity of a “relative…checking their well-being daily” alleviated by excluding those seniors who happen to have a relative somewhere in McHenry County? It doesn’t. The Woodstock resident is a taxpayer and should bed able to sign up for the Program.

What about the restriction on participation that you must live alone. Suppose your spouse or significant other and you are 65 or older. You should be able to sign up! What if there is a gas leak one night? Do we want the police eventually to find two bodies? Or what if one falls, and the other is hurt trying to help.

Come on… if you are 65, you should be able to sign up, if you want to.

How do you sign up?

Go to the City’s website at www.woodstockil.gov and then go to City Departments, then to Police, then to Community Programs/Services. Then click on Senior Citizen Call-in Program. You can print the two registration forms there.

Or call Tamara Reed, executive assistant to Police Chief Bob Lowen. Call (815) 338-2131.

Who can recommend participants or help them sign up?

Police officers can identify prospective participants in the Program and assist them in registering.
Agencies, such as Senior Services Associates and Faith in Action, can enroll their clients.
The Housing Authority can steer prospective participants to the police department.
Application forms could be prepared two-sided and left in popular places, such as counters of service businesses.
Churches can be excellent sources for participants in the Program.

To reduce the impact on dispatchers, a discrete telephone number could be established for seniors to call. Only they would call this special number. A voicemail system could accommodate simultaneous callers, and then dispatchers or another civilian employee of the Department could listen to the messages and check off names. Seniors would be instructed to call that number only for the Call-in Program.

Participants could also email a discrete email address at the P.D. to report their having survived another day. This also would reduce the burden on dispatchers to handle incoming telephone calls from seniors, when they might be handling urgent or crime matters.

This program is a worthwhile service to Woodstock seniors, but it needs much higher participation to continue. Help a senior sign up today; it could save their life tomorrow.