Silver Alert

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

04 Mar 2008 02:50 PM

You've probably heard of Amber Alerts -- a way of spreading the message far and wide about missing and/or abducted children. Over the last few years, individual states have been working on a similar Silver Alert program.

The Silver Alert program was created to help quickly locate missing persons who suffer from dementia or other cognitive impairment. The idea is very similar to the Amber Alert: get information out quickly to local law enforcement, radio stations, television stations, and more.

Criteria for issuing a Silver Alert may vary from one state to another. Here's an example of criteria from the state of North Carolina:

• The person must be eighteen or older.
• The person must be believed to be suffering from dementia or another form of cognitive impairment.
• The person is believed to be missing (regardless of circumstances).
• A legal custodian for the person has to submit a missing person report to the local law enforcement. Law enforcement investigates and determines if the request warrants a Silver Alert.
• The local law enforcement then reports the incident to the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons. The NC Center for Missing Persons then requests a Silver Alert.

As a person whose grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, I think this is a GREAT idea. I hope all fifty states have a Silver Alert system very soon. I can think of lots of times my mother has called my grandmother's house and not gotten an answer -- and gotten so worried she's gone over to check. Usually, it's my grandmother just not hearing the phone because the television is so loud. But there have been times when my grandmother has wandered off to visit neighbors or worse -- gotten into the car with strangers after accidentally letting the dogs out of the yard.

Knowing that there is a Silver Alert system in place would ease a lot of minds. In advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, a lot of people become very disoriented and start to wander in search of something or someone they are missing.

When a person is missing, time is of the essence. A Silver Alert system nationwide would help prevent accidents and injuries. If your state doesn't have a Silver Alert plan yet, contact your local government and ask them to get to work!

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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