The Clinton Police Department is developing a program, to be launched in March, that will provide support to senior citizens when they might need help with tasks, to help build their quality of life and keep them living in Clinton.

Once the program launches, senior citizens will be able to contact the Social Services Department and a volunteer will be made available to help the senior. Examples of the kinds of services provided include welfare checks, rides to appointments, minor household repairs, or yard work. A website also is in the works, to be launched around the same time.

According to Clinton Police Department Chief Vincent DeMaio, the idea for this is something the department had been considering for several years. However, due to limited resources available, the program could not start until this year.

“We’ll help with any and every thing. It depends on the needs of the group,” DeMaio said.

The program is coming to life thanks to a partnership between the department and Clinton-based nonprofit Families Helping Families, which will provide funding, and a Manchester-based nonprofit called Ur Community Cares, which provides a platform to connect seniors with the volunteers.

“It’s something we wanted to do the last several years, to start a program to reach out to the seniors because we feel like they’re underserved,” DeMaio said.

DeMaio said the department does receive many calls requesting help for seniors. Some of the calls are serious emergencies, but DeMaio said many can be simple wellness checks that, while important, can be time consuming over the course of an officer’s shift.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for these kinds of visits increased, due to families being unable to check in on their older relatives and seniors being unable to socialize as normal. The hope is that the new program will allow the senior population to be able to remain in their own houses and stay engaged in their community by providing the support they need.

“We thought if we could build this service up to alleviate those concerns, then we could keep people in their homes,” DeMaio said.

DeMaio said the department will use volunteers from the department’s Citizen Police Academy group, an annual multi-week class the department runs with volunteers from the public who wish to learn more about how police departments work. DeMaio said when the class ends, there are usually members of that group who are looking for more ways to serve the community, which makes the class a natural spot to look for volunteers.

The volunteers will receive training in how to recognize someone who may be in an altered mental status and when to recognize that additional resources will be needed on a call. DeMaio said he is hoping to get 40 to 50 volunteers to start with the program.

“We want to build this into a model program. It’s a real community builder and also alleviates stress on law enforcement. We really wanted to start working on the seniors because we feel that’s a population that there isn’t enough done for,” DeMaio said.

The Clinton Police Department isn’t the only town agency that is working to provide more support to seniors. The Town Council recently voted to establish a senior services program coordinator in the next budget who would work as a point person in developing more programs for seniors. There have also been calls for the town to establish long-term goals like building a senior center in town and establishing a senior citizens commission that would study and find solutions to issues that affect seniors.