June 14, 2013 – Often, the first person to notice that someone's health is failing, or that they’re in immediate danger isn't a doctor or a first responder – or even a family member. It’s someone who’s trained to recognize red flags and help people get connected with the resources they might need. That's the idea behind the Gatekeepers program run by Multnomah County.
Volunteers staff the program which is under the direction of Lynn Schemer-Valleau, its program supervisor, who works for Multnomah County Aging and Disability Services which provides the funding. Last year she gave 14 presentations, reaching about 275 people.
“The funding is very minimal. It's just an overlay of our existing county services and how we do outreach to people,” she said.
Similar programs exist around the country. Brad Melland, a retired mail carrier has trained other mail carriers around the country as a volunteer and participated in a similar program when he was delivering mail in Minnesota before moving to Portland in 1996. The U.S. Postal Service has a national program to help letter carriers identify problems and connect customers with services they may need.
“As carriers we tend to talk to the customers a lot,” said Melland, who retired three years ago. “I know when I was on a route, the elderly would keep an eye out for me and would want to talk.”
A carrier might notice mail stacking up in the box, or newspapers stacking up on the front porch – or that a customer has taped coins to mail instead of affixing stamps, suggesting they've had difficulty getting out to purchase stamps, or may be having cognitive problems.
“In extreme cases, caregivers are keeping them secluded or are not providing for them properly,” Melland said. “Gatekeepers check with them and say, 'Hey, are you able to get out?'”
About 67 percent of referrals involve abuse, neglect or financial exploitation and are referred to Adult Protective Services. In other cases, people might not need that level of intervention.
For instance, a utility company might refer a customer who's fallen behind on paying her bills. In some cases, the person might have fallen on hard times and just need someone to help her fill out paperwork requesting utilities assistance, or has recently lost a spouse and is distraught or feels overwhelmed. In those less severe cases, Schemer-Valleau said, caseworkers try to find out what other resources the client might need and inform them about what's available – such as events at local senior centers, assistance with delivered meals or other amenities.
In the past year, the Gatekeeper program has received 395 referrals, with 20 percent coming from police, fire and rescue departments, 20 percent from utility companies, 10 percent from community members, 7 percent from banks and credit unions and the remaining 9 percent from mail carriers, apartment managers and others, About half the referrals involve people who are already in the Gatekeeper’s system and half involve people who are new to the system.
Melland is convinced the program is extremely worthwhile. “It's something that I really like doing because I know it's actually helping people. It's one of those things where programs are there, but a lot of people don't know about them. If those programs aren't used, they're going be lost.”
TO LEARN MORE:
To learn more about Multnomah County's gatekeeper program, click here.
Christen McCurdy can be reached at [email protected].
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