Attention Amherst Senior Citizens

Chief Scott P. Livingstone would like to invite members of the senior community to the monthly Senior and Law Enforcement Councils (SALT) meetings, held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM in the Amherst Police Department Community Room. The Amherst SALT Council is a partnership between the seniors of Amherst, the Amherst Police Department, Amherst Fire Department, Northwestern District Attorney’s Office and the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office. The Amherst SALT Council has facilitated several projects including:

• RUOK ?: Elders receive a daily telephone call confirming their well-being.

• HOUSE NUMBER PROJECT: SALT Council members coordinate and install house number signs within the town of Amherst. This program is vital to allow emergency responders, police and fire to accurately and quickly identify the numeric of a house when responding to an emergency.

• SPECIAL WISHES BOOKLET: An important written guide for elders to utilize when making vital legal decisions regarding their personal affairs.

• EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS GUIDE: The SALT Council created and distributed this publication after learning of the hardships faced by so many elders after the severe ice storms in 2009.

• LOST ELDER PROGRAM: This voluntary registration program allows any Amherst elder who is easily confused and may become disoriented to file emergency notification paperwork at the police department so that we may reunite a lost elder with their loved ones.

• ELDER SHRED EVENT: This program allowed elders and all community members to bring their financial and other personal documents to a SALT sponsored event to have their documents shredded on site, preventing them from getting in the hands of criminals who could steal their identity.

• TRAININGS: The SALT Council, together with the Amherst Police Department, has developed and endorsed trainings for our elder community members on a variety of topics including: Crime Prevention/Fire Safety, Deterring Identity Theft, Elder Targeted Financial Scams and Emergency Preparation.

• NATIONAL DRUG TAKE BACK DAY: Assisted in the collection of old and unwanted medications, keeping them out of landfills and out of the hands of drug addicted persons.

All Amherst SALT Council meetings are open to the public. The Council would like to have new members join them to offer suggestions for projects that would promote the physical and financial well being of Amherst elders. Attendance at every meeting is not required. For more information, go to the Amherst Police webpage or contact Amherst Police Officer Jamie Reardon at 413-259-3000 or via email.