Sheriff Mascara’s new partnership with Project Lifesaver will help keep seniors and children safe
St Lucie County, Fl- Sheriff Ken Mascara announced that the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office will now partner with Project Lifesaver International to provide resources to keep Alzheimer’s patients and children on the Autism Spectrum safe.
“Today we launch a new and innovative partnership to help keep some very important members of our community safe,” said Sheriff Ken J. Mascara. “Two of the most vulnerable populations in any community are children and seniors, and those with autism spectrum disorder and Alzheimer’s are even more at risk of danger.”
Photo of Project Lifesaver International Drone
Statistics show when it comes to children with an autism spectrum disorder, roughly half attempt to wander from a safe environment, more than one third who wander are rarely able to communicate their name, address, or phone number and children with autism are eight times more likely to wander between the ages of 7 and 10.
Photo of Project Lifesaver International transmitter wristbands and radio receiver locator
Six in 10 seniors with Alzheimer’s will wander and they may not remember his or her name or address and if not found within 24 hours, up to half of individuals who wander will suffer serious injury or death.
“The resources now available through Project Lifesaver International will help parents and caregivers keep their loved one safe and make finding them easier in the event they wander,” Mascara said.
| Project Lifesaver is a community based, public safety, non-profit organization that provides law enforcement, fire/rescue, and caregivers with a solution designed to protect, and when necessary, quickly locate individuals with cognitive disorders. It was the first to apply locating techniques to aid in the search and rescue of individuals, and is the most widely used and most effective program in the nation designed to protect these at risk populations in our communities.
According to the organization, the search times for certified Project Lifesaver agencies have been reduced from hours, potentially days, down to minutes with recovery times for Project Lifesaver agencies averaging 30 minutes, 95% shorter than standard operations without Project Lifesaver. “Through this partnership, Project Lifesaver will equip our agency with the necessary technologies and provide training on how to use of the equipment,” Mascara said. “They will also provide training for our employees on how to better understand cognitive conditions and recognize the behaviors of these members of our community.”
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