The City of Crossville Police Department is excited to announce the introduction of our first ever ELDER WATCH PROGRAM. The purpose of the program is for our office to have a personal contact with elderly citizens of the City of Crossville, to ensure their personal welfare. The Elder Watch Program is designed to enhance contact with homebound elderly persons and residents with special needs. We are often contacted by out-of-town family members who are concerned for the well-being of these persons, due to a lack of contact.
Through the Elder Watch Program, regular contact can be established with those who request to participate. This program will be operated by members of the Crossville Police Department and our VIP (Volunteers in Policing) program, who will establish contact with the homebound person, on a regular basis, to check on their well-being. If, through the course of his or her regular duties, an officer or volunteer encounters a resident who would benefit from the Elder Watch program, the officer would be encouraged to provide an Elder Watch Request Form to that resident.
Elder Watch Program Details
- Upon regular intervals, a member of the Crossville Police Department will attempt to contact participants by home visits.
- We will check on the welfare of the participants, their personal well-being and check their physical condition during extreme weather, heat / cool, etc.
The Crossville Police Department wants to stress the importance of increasing the awareness of this new Elder Watch program, in an effort to help insure the safety of our community’s must vulnerable residents.
Elder Watch Request Forms can be picked up at Police Headquarters during normal business hours. Residents or family members may also contact the VIP office at (931)484-7231, ext. 123, to request that an Elder Watch Request Form be mailed to their home, or to schedule one of our Volunteers come to their home and assist in filling out the request form. Downloadable forms will also be available online, by visiting www.crossvilletn.gov and selecting the “Departments” tab, “Public Safety” tab, then to the Police Department’s “Current Events” page.
This is a really good thing but it needs to be carried further by having training sessions for elders to make sure they can defend themselves; the whistle as an alert, how to use your can or walking staff as a weapon, how to know right away when you are being scammed. I could go on and on but for those of us who can still drive and get to stores we need to be aware of the danger of those who may want to just get our money.
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