FAPD’s Contact Care Brings Connection for Forest
Acres Residents
By Lynnsey Baker
For a resident who lives alone, knowing there will be a call every morning can provide something we all need: connection. For family members who live across town, or across the country, it means one less thing to worry about. And for the officers and dispatchers on the other end of the line, it means
something, too. More than just another task on a job checklist, over time, this morning contact becomes a relationship.
This authentic connection is built on compassion and, yes, care—that’s the idea behind Contact Care, a free program offered by the Forest Acres Police Department (FAPD). Primarily for older residents who live alone, older couples have also occasionally enrolled. In fact, Contact Care is open to any Forest Acres resident who has a need, including health concerns, and is willing to participate.
Currently, there are 12 individuals enrolled in the program. Each participant receives a special phone number to call every morning, seven days a week. The call is routed to the city’s non-emergency dispatch line. With just four dispatchers staffing the department around the clock, the names
and voices of Contact Care participants quickly become familiar on both ends of the line.
If FAPD has not heard from a participant by their designated time, an officer or department member calls them to check in. If there is still no answer, an officer goes to the resident’s home. Residents can also provide the department with a key to their home, and the location of this key is kept confidential and used only for Contact Care. If an officer cannot reach the person at the door, thekey allows them to enter and make sure the resident is safe. The department also keeps a confidential file on the participant
that contains important information, like medical needs and emergency contact numbers for the participant’s physician, family members, etc.
“Contact Care gives our residents and their families an extra sense of security,” Police Chief Don Robinson maintains. “They know someone is checking on them every day, and if something doesn’t seem right, our officers are going to be there.”
Over the years, Contact Care participants have become part of the FAPD family. Officers know them as neighbors and friends—not just names on a list. Last year, FAPD Victim Advocate Rebecca Oliver organized a Christmas drop-in, giving officers the opportunity to visit Contact Care participants at home
and deliver gifts and flowers.
“Being thought of is everything,” Oliver says. “And I wanted to put words into action, surprise them, and
see them smile.”
Oliver knows the program from both sides. Before becoming FAPD’s victim advocate last year, she was a department dispatcher for four years and was involved with Contact Care during her everyday shift. The relationships she built with participants have continued even as she has moved into a new role with the
department, and she now oversees the department’s Contact Care program.
“With Contact Care, we get to know the people on a personal level—and really get to know them. They love hearing from the dispatchers and being told ‘happy birthday’ or whatever holiday it is,” explains Oliver. “Some of our contact care has no family around, so they look forward to our phone calls, and
so do we. It’s a nice highlight in a day that can be chaotic and high stress.”
“These residents become near and dear to us,” Robinson adds. “We care about them, and we want them to know that their police department is here for them—not just when there’s an emergency, but every day.”
That’s what makes Contact Care more than a check-in. It’s community policing and compassion—in action.
Interested in Contact Care? The program is free and open to any Forest Acres resident who has a need and is willing to participate. To learn more or enroll, contact the FAPD’s Crime Prevention Division at 803-782-9444 and ask for Rebecca Oliver or email her at [email protected].
