Project Lifesaver is a national program that helps track people who are prone to wander from home due to cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, Down syndrome, autism or brain injuries. The Norwalk Police Department has been awarded a grant for equipment and training to take part in the program.
People enrolled in the program can be located through transmitters worn around their wrists or ankles. If they pass a certain perimeter, a GPS signal will notify Project Lifesaver and Norwalk police. A radio frequency is used to track that person’s specific signal in order to locate them.
The program is spearheaded at the Norwalk Police Department by Sgt. Sofia Gulino. She and the officers who have trained with the program comprise every platoon in the patrol and community policing units, so that they will be able to locate someone who has wandered off at any time of the day.
“Right now we’re interacting with the community and looking for clients based on prior reports of wandering,” Gulino said. Officers will routinely check in with clients to make sure that their equipment is working properly.
When using Project Lifesaver, the recovery time for finding someone who has wandered can be reduced from an average of nine hours to 30 minutes, Gulino said. It is critically important to locate someone who has wandered quickly, as their likelihood of being found alive reduces 50 percent after 24 hours, she said.
Several surrounding communities also take part in Project Lifesaver, including Darien, New Canaan and Stamford. Gulino said that they will be presenting the program to various senior agencies in the city to spread awareness.
For more information on Project Lifesaver, contact the Norwalk Police Department at 203-854-3000.
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