Protecting our senior citizens seems like a lost art form in today’s busy world, but it still is important to make sure our senior citizens are safe, aware and do not get scammed by scam callers.
There is a non-profit organization called TRIAD. TRIAD is a cooperative effort of law enforcement agencies and senior citizens, such as police officers, fire fighters, sheriff and senior organizations, which focus on reducing crimes against the most vulnerable citizens, senior citizens. TRIAD is a non-profit organization. Citizens can call for assistance.
The sheriff’s department at 580-323-1616 and the caller would leave a message with their name and phone number asking for TRIAD and they would get a phone call back.
When a person calls TRIAD for assistance, they need to know two things. First, TRIAD needs to know if the individual calling is OK and not in danger. The second thing TRIAD needs to know from the caller is simple information with a number. The caller also must inform TRIAD if they are not available in the future to talk, since TRIAD follows up with a call if the caller wishes.
The goal of TRIAD is to reduce the fear of crime and victimization among seniors by increasing awareness of scams and frauds targeting them. This begins by strengthening communication between the law enforcement and senior communities and also educating seniors on local and state resources which are available in their community.
This goal is accomplished through speaking engagements, community collaborations, targeted trainings for seniors and law enforcement practitioners are providing a support mechanism to current local TRIAD groups, and marketing the TRIAD concept to non-participating localities.
TRIAD is not just for senior citizens, as people who are disabled can call or anyone who is going through a rough time. A senior citizen also can call if they have fallen or are in danger.
“We are for protecting senior citizens and the first thing we want to make sure of is if the caller is okay,” Millspaugh said. “Anyone can call us, but we are not trained counselors and not in the mental health area, but we can help as best as we can. There are hotlines people can call too for more help. Senior citizens have called us when they have fallen and we were able to save their lives from the call.”
TRIAD once called one of their callers and found out the caller was on the floor because she fell. Millspaugh said the first question she always asks callers is if they are okay.
“When I called one of our callers, I could tell right away something was wrong and I asked if she was okay,” Rose Millspaugh, who is a chair in TRIAD said. “She said she had not been on her oxygen all night and needed help. I hung up and called for help. I called her granddaughter’s office and said I needed to talk to her immediately. I told the granddaughter and she immediately went to the home, got her oxygen tank working and helped her up after she fell. I later received a call from the lady I called and she thanked me for calling and said I saved her life.”
TRIAD meets 2 p.m., every third Tuesday of each month at the Clinton Senior Citizens Center. Rose Millspaugh said everyone is invited to these meetings and they serve coffee, refreshments and door prizes. There also is a guest speaker and the speaker at Tuesday’s meeting was Custer County Sherriff Dan Day.