By Kristen Levenick

More than 200 older Westerville area residents are expected to seek safety and crime prevention advice and information at this year’s Serve Our Seniors Safety Day, the third annual event organized by the Westerville Division of Police.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 24 at Westerville North High School. Attendees can enjoy a complimentary lunch and enter a free raffle to win a variety of prizes.

During S.O.S. Day, seniors have the opportunity to learn about identity theft, scams, domestic violence, elder abuse and more. Various exhibitors, law enforcement representatives and attorneys will also answer any questions from participants.

“The mission is to get as much safety information to (the senior attendees) as we can,” says Carrie Ryan, a crime prevention specialist with the Westerville Division of Police.

According to Ryan, safety and health tend to be seniors’ major concerns, but there are few services devoted to teaching and providing them with information and products.

“We hear about all types of available services related to health and wellness, but we haven’t heard of any that were focused on safety and crime prevention, so we wanted to try and reach out to our senior community,” she says. “Our idea was to have an event where we could educate as many seniors as possible about safety, while still giving them info on health and other issues.”

With an attendance of 150 people at the first event and more than 200 the following year, S.O.S. Day seems to appeal to a large portion of the senior community.

“I appreciate the police department and the academy of volunteers putting this event on for seniors. I go to the event and support them for that reason,” says Helen Colyer, 79, of Westerville.

Colyer attended the first two S.O.S. events with her husband, Pete, and plans to attend this year, as well. She says that although she feels safe in Westerville, she hopes to learn more about and get updates on safety issues at the event.

More than 60 booths will include previous exhibitors such as the Franklin County Board of Health, the Westerville Senior Center and the Westerville Library. There will be some new additions, as well.

“This year, we’ll be partnering with My Emergency Contact Info, a non-profit service offered at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and online that allows you to provide next-of-kin or emergency contact info,” Ryan says.

The service is free. Emergency contact can be accessed by law enforcement officials along with driver’s license information. Representatives from My Emergency Contact Info will be available at the event to update attendees’ emergency contact information, specifically to allow seniors who don’t know how to use the Internet to take advantage of the free service.

S.O.S. Day will also feature two hour-long identity theft information sessions at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Identity theft is the largest growing crime in the nation and is therefore a concern for seniors.

Colyer believes the event has truly helped her and other attendees.

“I learned a lot from the speakers who talked about scams and identity theft,” she says. “A police officer even taught me how to get a free copy of my credit report.”

According to Ryan, seniors have plenty to gain from attending the event.

“We hope seniors leave the event with a peace of mind, knowing there are resources out there for them, and a better understanding of how to prevent crime,” says Ryan. “(Seniors) don’t like to bother law enforcement, so a lot of senior crimes go unreported. We don’t want them to hesitate to ask for help when they need it.”

To learn more about Serve Our Seniors Safety Day, visit www.westerville.org.  

Kristen Levenick is a contributing writer for Westerville Magazine.