Brazos County Sheriff’s Office launching new ‘R U OK?’ program
BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas (KBTX) – The Brazos County Sheriff’s Office is launching a new program for older, homebound adults who live alone.
It’s called the “R U OK?” program. A volunteer will call those signed up to ensure they are okay.
To qualify for the free program, people must be at least 65 years or older, and live in an unincorporated area of Brazos County.
“One of the things we learned was probably somewhere in the area of 25,000 people in our community are over 65,” Brazos County Sheriff Wayne Dicky said. “About 25% of those are estimated to live alone.”
The sheriff’s office says paying the part-time volunteer coordinator is the only cost. Sheriff Dicky says he believes it’s the first program of its kind here in our area.
“It’s the first one that I’m aware of and we’re really excited about rolling it out and seeing what kind of impact it can have. We hope that it helps us assure that people that live alone are okay, that it gives them a sense of security, and that it gives their family members some peace of mind,” the sheriff said.
The sheriff’s office says they hope to have the program up and running in the next 30 days.
You can watch our full interview with Sheriff Dicky in the player above.
