Lockbox program aimed at making seniors safer

  On occasion when emergency responders receive a 911 call and arrive at the residence, the person who made that call may be physically unable to answer the door, which may be locked.

  In that case, responders must break a door or window to gain access, causing property damage that will only amount to an added expense for the person who made the call. But thanks to a new federal grant, a pilot program installing Knox boxes on certain homes may be changing all that in the near future in the Yuma area.

  “This program will allow us quick access to homes that have 'at risk' clients in them,” said Jill Harrison, director of the Western Arizona Council of Governments. “Because we provide various in-home services such as in-home meals to the elderly that are living alone, we have already identified those people who may be most in need of this service.”

  The Knox Box is make by the Knox Co. in Phoenix.

  Harrison stressed that none of the Knox boxes has been installed, but they soon will be ordered and then installed by local fire departments, free of charge to the client.

   “A Knox Box is a small simple lockbox that either attaches to the home or to the door,” she said, “much the same as real estate companies use. A key to the home can be left inside and only the local fire department has a key that will fit the lockboxes in their area. It is very safe and secure.”

  Currently, the Area Agency on Aging, a division of WACOG, is cooperating with six local fire districts in coordinating the ordering and installation process. Those six fire districts are the Kingman Fire Department, Bullhead City Fire Department, Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire Department, Quartzsite Fire Department, Yuma Fire Department and Yuma Rural/Metro Fire Department.

  Each department will receive 50 of the Knox Boxes to be loaned to senior citizens to increase their security.

  “One of the things we like best about this program is that we can use the same lockboxes over and over in different locations,” said Harrison. “So if someone moves, we can use that lockbox at another location.”

  According to Harrison, funding came from the Older Americans Act and the National Caregiver Support Program.

  “We’re referring to this as a pilot program, but we also recognize that we might only get funded for this program one time, so we’re trying to use the money as efficiently as possible. The Knox lockboxes cost between $150 to $160 each, depending upon whether it is the type that must be mounted on the house or simply attached to the door.”

  Harrison said there are other benefits to the program as well as the increased security for senior citizens living alone.

  “We’re building a really effective series of partnerships through this program and that can carry over into other areas in the future that we can’t even see today.”