A Helping Hand….and A Great Program

Marianna City Police help many local families care for safety of elderly relatives

By Sid Riley

Last week the Marianna Police Department participated in a special luncheon for the elderly people of Marianna that are under the caring wing of city policemen through the "Police Care Program". Caring for elderly family members who are struggling to remain at home instead of moving into some facility where close care can be provided, is a situation faced by many. The Marianna City Police department helps solve this problem for many families through this civic service.

Families only need to register the name of the family member, address, and other data with the Marianna Police Department and the service will begin. At present there are 65 local residents registered with the service. Each morning the individual must call the special number at the police department to advise them that all is well. If no call is received by noon, they will be contacted by the Police Department to assure they are up for the day and are doing ok. If any indication of a problem is encountered, a patrol car will be dispatched to the address immediately.

There have been numerous incidents where this action prevented a serious problem from developing for an elderly citizen. "Of course there are also a lot of false alarms and unnecessary responses, but the one time we are really needed makes all of that very worthwhile", states Police Chief Hayes Baggett.

The Marianna Police Department is the only municipal police department in the county that provides this valuable service. For more information call the police care line at 482-6446, or the main number at 526-3125.