By Beth Anspach
The Dayton Daily News
HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio — With many senior citizens remaining independent well into their retirement, more of them also are able to stay in the homes they love.
But without family and friends to check in from time to time, some are left without help should they fall or become ill. The problem has grown as people live longer. But in Huber Heights, a program that was first developed about 14 years ago is helping residents who need help remaining safe in their homes.
“The Home Safe program is a check-in service offered by the Huber Heights Fire Department,” said Jalynn Winland, an administrative secretary who, along with co-worker Janet Schoening, manages the program.
“It’s mostly volunteer driven,” said Winland. “But we took over managing it a few years ago since it was starting to grow.”
The idea for Home Safe came about because firefighters and paramedics were finding people who had fallen or had been too sick to call, and were sometimes left alone for days before they were found.
“Many people live alone and don’t have family in town,” Winland said.
Home Safe has always been a free program and is open to any resident of Huber Heights, regardless of age or situation. Participants call in between the hours of 8 to 10 a.m. daily to let volunteers in the program know they are O.K.
“Some people are concerned because they are caregivers for spouses who may have dementia or are disabled,” Winland said. “So though the program was originally designed for seniors, we also serve some individuals who just need to feel that if something happened to them, their spouses would be taken care of.”
With 19 Huber Heights residents currently participating in the Home Safe program, volunteers spend two hours each day answering calls from participants.
“If we don’t get a call, we’ll call them and if we don’t get an answer, we’ll send the guys out to check on them,” Winland said. “Some of our participants stay busy and just forget to call in.”
And just in case firefighters have to get into the residences to check on the participants in person, those who request them can get lock boxes for their homes, to make it easier for the firefighters to enter the homes.
“I wrote a grant this year to pay for the lock boxes,” Winland said.
Both Winland and Schoening say participants of the Home Safe program have become an extended family, many calling in each day and talking about everything from politics to hobbies to grandchildren.
“We try to say something positive to them and encourage them,” Winland said. “It seems to make a big difference.”
Copyright 2009 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.