Residents of Sooke who are in need of a bit of help staying in touch with the outside world now have a convenient option available to them.
The program is called KIT and it stands for Keep In Touch.
The program was developed because, in today’s world, people can get very isolated and, sometimes, that isolation can compromise their comfort and safety.
“It’s not that these people aren’t capable of living in their own home, but they can get very isolated there, and want to reach out for that little bit of help that they need,” said Rosanne Day, one of Sooke’s first program volunteers and the driving force behind making the service available to Sooke residents.
Day had been made aware of the program, which has been in existence on the West Shore for 22 years, and decided it was something she’d be interesting in pursuing.
“They have the program on the West Shore, but people who lived in Sooke were outside of the Westshore RCMP boundary and couldn’t enroll to get a call. So I went to the West Shore to volunteer anyway and managed to get them to work with the Sooke RCMP so people here could enroll,” she said.
The way the program works is quite simple. People who live alone and have safety, medical or social needs can register for the program or be referred to the program by a friend, their doctor, care workers, or family members. Once enrolled they supply the RCMP with a house key (to which only the RCMP have access) and the names and phone numbers of family, neighbours and others with whom they are close.
Clients receive daily phone calls from a volunteer to make sure they are alright, remind them to take medication, or just to chat for a few minutes to provide a critical social connection for that client.
“Isolation can be very serious for some people. It makes them feel unsafe and it’s amazing the difference that one call a day can make,” explained Day.
If the volunteer is after several attempts unable to reach the client, they will call numbers off the list to see if anyone knows the client’s whereabouts.
If that is still not successful, the RCMP will access the house key and visit the home to ensure that nothing is wrong.
“Basically, the program is just a matter of nice people talking to other nice people.” said Day.
She stressed that the program is not designed to keep people living in their home if doing so is unsafe. IT is not, she said, meant to replace the kind of care found in an assisted living facility in cases of dementia or serious medical problems.
“This is for those people who are still safe in their hoes, but need that extra little bit of contact and help,” said Day.
Volunteers are all subject to an interview with the RCMP, a criminal record check, and are required to complete a short training course.
Anyone interested in registering with the program to receive their daily call need only call KIT at 250-474-8791.
