SBSO LAUNCHES ‘HELP ME HOME’ PROGRAM
The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office is pleased to launch the “Help Me Home” program in cooperation with the St. Bernard Autism Awareness Krewe and in connection with April being Autism Awareness Month, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.
Help Me Home is a voluntary enrollment program for adults, parents and/or caregivers of individuals in St. Bernard Parish who have various mental or physical challenges including, but not limited to diagnoses such as Autism, Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s.
Sheriff Pohlmann said the program is designed to provide first responders with critical information about the individual’s intellectual or physical condition in the event they ever need assistance and/or are unable to communicate effectively on their own.
“The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office’s mission has always been to keep St. Bernard residents and those within our parish safe,” the Sheriff said. “This program is a reflection of that commitment and our awareness of those individuals most vulnerable in our community.”
Caregivers can register their loved ones for the program by completing an online registration form at https://sbso.org/sbso-eforms/57/
During the registration process, participants can voluntarily provide pertinent information that will then be placed in the Sheriff’s Office database. When deputies are dispatched to a residence of an individual registered, deputies will receive an alert and the information provided through Help Me Home will be made accessible to deputies via laptops in their patrol vehicles.
For example, once registered, if an individual is lost and/or found alone by law enforcement and needs some form of assistance, the deputy will be able to quickly search for personal identifiers within the database to help them effectively and safely interact with the individual, render them aid and contact their caregiver in a timely manner.
For more information about the program, contact St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office Detective Sgt. Jeff Vega, Help Me Home program administrator, at [email protected] at (504) 278-7657, or visit the St. Bernard Autism Awareness Krewe at stbautismkrewe.org.
St. Bernard Autism Awareness Krewe President Danny Dysart Jr. said his organization is excited about this endeavor and is appreciative of Sheriff Pohlmann’s cooperation in launching this vital program.
“We are so thankful to Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann and the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office for their tremendous dedication and service to the residents of St. Bernard Parish,” Dysart said, “And, in particular, their awareness and commitment to the families in our community dealing with the daily struggle of caring for individuals with Autism, or any other developmental or physical diagnosis.”
According to Dysart, the CDC estimates that one in every 44 children born will be diagnosed with Autism and prevalence rates continue to rise every year.
“Given their unique challenges, individuals with Autism or other developmental diagnoses continue to be at an increased risk of harm,” Dysart said. “The Help Me Home program is aimed at lowering these risks and provides the opportunity for our families to provide vital information to first responders that may be the difference in saving the life of an individual that is lost, missing or otherwise susceptible to a dangerous situation.”
Sheriff Pohlmann is proud to be able to offer this new service to St. Bernard’s most vulnerable residents.
“We hope this cooperative endeavor with the community will bring further awareness within our department and our community,” the Sheriff said. “We are proud to be one of the first departments in the State of Louisiana to provide this type of program, which will benefit our families and officers in striving to fulfill our mission of ‘Keeping St. Bernard Safe’.”
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