The Riley County Police Department announced the launch of a new community program designed to assist families in Riley County who are effected by autism, Alzheimer’s, and other forms of dementia.
PROJECT: GUARDIANS is designed to help officers provide assistance to members of the community who are unable to communicate or properly interact with emergency responders.
The program is a private and secured database managed by RCPD. It includes a digital picture and contact information of participating members. RCPD suggests that caregivers update these records regularly.
RCPD officers can can search the database to retrieve important care and contact information should they encounter a PROJECT: GUARDIANS program participant. The database will also help officers determine special circumstances or obstacles that a participant may be experiencing.
Police and emergency responders will also have access to important messages from caregivers such as a participant’s attraction to certain places including bodies of water, wooded areas, or parks.
The Riley County Police Department will host an Open House event for the program on Friday from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. This event falls at the end of Autism Awareness Month and will allow families meet RCPD officers. Applications for the program will be available later next month.
For more information, visit RileyCountyPolice.org/Guardians.
