PROJECT LIFESAVER
Project Lifesaver is the premier search and rescue program operated In the United States and Canada by public safety agencies and is strategically designed for “at-risk” individuals who are prone to the life-threatening behavior of wandering and eloping. The primary mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide timely responses to save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children with the propensity to wander/elope due to a cognitive condition. Cognitive disorders include, but are not limited to, autism, developmental delay conditions, Down Syndrome, Alzheimer’s, and other dementias.
In Westchester County, the Project Lifesaver program has been active since approximately 2009. It is administered by the Westchester County Department of Public Safety (county officers) and is managed by Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS). Project Lifesaver is a community-based, public safety, non-profit organization that provides law enforcement, fire/rescue, and caregivers with a program designed to protect and, when necessary, quickly locate individuals with cognitive disorders who are prone to wander or elope.
The organization was founded in 1999 in Chesapeake, Virginia in response to the correlation between cognitive conditions and the acts of wandering and eloping. With the dramatic increase in cognitive conditions, the program has grown from a localized program to one that is recognized internationally as a proven and effective method of “bringing loved ones home.”
Project Lifesaver was the first to apply locating techniques to aid in the search and rescue of individuals and its success rate is impressive. The search times have been reduced from hours, potentially days, down to minutes.
Westchester County employs the use of radio-frequency (RF) technology. Its major advantage, unlike GPS systems, is the accuracy and strength of the signal, which is only minimally diminished by physical obstructions or weather conditions. This signal is detectable by both ground and air assets. Officers are equipped with the necessary search technologies and have been specifically trained in the use of the equipment, implementation of methods specifically designed for the program, and community policing courses that provide a basic understanding of cognitive conditions to better comprehend the behaviors of an individual with a cognitive condition.
WJCS manages the application and admission process in Westchester. Individuals are provided with radio-frequency transmitters in devices worn on a wrist or an ankle that transmit a signal every second at a specifically assigned frequency. These devices need a battery change and maintenance every 60 days, services that are provided by WJCS and its affiliated battery change sites in Westchester. The program is open to children/young adults with autism or developmental delay who reside in Westchester with parents or legal guardians and to seniors with dementia who live with their primary caregiver in the county.
Contact Isabel M Pettersen, Program Manager at Westchester Jewish Community Services of Youth Project Lifesaver and Senior Project Lifesaver, at 914-761-0600 x2230 or ipettersen@wjcs.com for more information.