Being the adventurous type, I often “WOW!” myself with exotic programs, unpronounceable acronyms and cutting-edge services, but sometimes I have to declare a brief hiatus from leading the way for humanity and remember that it’s all about the “small stuff.”
Oh, yes it is – The “small stuff” – Because, in my inter-galactic experience, it’s often the BIG STUFF that takes care of itself, but the small stuff…
And it’s often the “small stuff” that keeps a lot of us going, those “little” good things that have been around for so long that we sort of forget about them because they aren’t in the news or screaming at us or just generally forcing themselves into our already-cluttered, collective consciousness – They just go on, helping people.
Like “Project Lifesaver:” If you’re a caregiver for anyone with cognitive issues (Alzheimer’s, autism, whatever) you know as well as I do that one of the scariest things in your life – If not the scariest! – Is if/when your person wanders. You get cold all over and your stomach knots up and it gets harder and harder to think and you run faster and faster and you know you’re getting a little hysterical, but…Cold fear.
And most of us who have ever been through that will do just about anything to avoid going through it again.
Project Lifesaver is a national program, but it was born locally through the Sequim Police Department, then expanded by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office. The person wears a wristband transmitter, about the size of a watch, which emits a tracking signal. If/when a caregiver notifies Sequim P.D. or the Sheriff’s office that their person is missing, trained folks respond and use a mobile locator tracking system to find him/her. You can never make any guarantees with something like this, but the national average search time is 30 minutes.
Wow! For $50? You bet!
The caregiver will have to fill out the application (get comfortable, because it’s LONG – Well…), have a recent photo of your person or bring him/her in to have one taken, bring the unit in every month for charging (free) and call the applicable agency RIGHT NOW if your person goes missing. Feel your stomach loosening up? Good.
Yes, it’s another thing to do – So it goes. You can download the applications at the Sequim PD web site or call them at 683-7227. A little further west, go to http://www.clallam.net/Sheriff/projectlifesaver,html or call Lorraine Shore at 417-2376. And while you’re at it, feel free to thank them and the UNPAID volunteers that make this happen.
By the way, the Clallam Sheriff’s Department also participates in the “911 Cell Phone Bank.” The deal here is that they accept old cell phones, get them reconditioned to call ONLY 911 anywhere in Clallam County and distribute them free to folks who qualify, like Elders, people who live alone, victims of domestic violence or other violent crimes – You get it. Now, is this a “good thing,” or what?
How many old cell phones + their “stuff” have you got lying around, or filling up that drawer where you keep the spare batteries and the rubber bands? Right, so drop them off at the Sheriff’s office or KONP or the Sequim library or the Clallam Bay library or go to http://www.clallam.net/Sheriff/CellPhoneBankProgram.html and see what you see.
Oh, I’m told I should remind you that you can find past columns that once appeared in this very spot at http://markharveyshelpline.blogspot.com to do with as you see fit. Writing or saying things like that always make me extremely uncomfortable because it feels self-aggrandizing to me, so I find that I tend to starttypingrealfasttogetitoverwith!
The “small stuff,” he said; well, if the Elder in question hadn’t been as sharp as she is, this wouldn’t have been very “small” for her! Listen:
She got a phone call from a man who advised her that she needed a new medical card. He didn’t call her by name, but did confirm her address. When he asked for her bank account number to be sure that he was speaking with the correct person, she hung up on him.
Good! Well done! I hope he got his feelings hurt! (He didn’t, but I can still hope)
Another attempt to steal an identity – To get access to the info that will allow the bad guys to sustain their lifestyle with your money. NEVER give out personal or financial info on the phone, unless you initiated the interaction! And listen to this, too, please:
With all the anxiety and confusion about Health Care Reform (“Obamacare,” “ACA,” whatever you choose to call it), there is even more potential for us getting scammed or ripped-off. Nobody from any part of the government will ever call or e-mail you to get or confirm your personal and/or financial information – It won’t happen! – So, if somebody tries, please disconnect as quickly and rudely as possible, and feel free to tell them I said so! I could suggest a few thousand well-chosen words, but this is a family newspaper.
OK? Remember, they busted Al Capone for income tax evasion – It’s all about the “small stuff.”
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