Unique partnerships for fall prevention: highlighting SALT (Seniors And Law enforcement Together)
Posted June 28, 2016
Community engagement, connecting people, and learning from one another (aka avoiding reinventing the wheel) are three of my favourite things. You can imagine how excited I was when an opportunity to marry all three came across my desk last fall. I received an email from the Community Services Officer with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Frontenac detachment seeking interest in an initiative they were starting up to support the safety & well-being of older adults living in the South Frontenac region. Having worked with Constable Sandhu on a distracted driving project in the past, I was eager to learn more about his proposed SALT (Seniors And Law enforcement Together) Program and how it connected to my public health work in fall prevention.
SALT initiatives originated in the United States through TRIAD, a national organization initially started with the National Sheriffs' Association, the International Chiefs of Police, and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in 1988. The community policing initiative between seniors, law enforcement, and service providers aims to reduce the fear of crime and victimization that older adults often experience and to promote older adult safety through education and crime prevention. SALT is the moniker given to TRIAD initiatives implemented on the community level. Though SALT Committee activities vary across regions to support local relevance of programming, a common emphasis is placed on the need for strong engagement with and leadership by older adults. Over 40 states are involved in this program across the USA and several areas in Ontario have adopted and adapted the program.
The idea was brought to South Frontenac by a staff sergeant who had helped established a SALT Program in her previous detachment area. South Frontenac is a roughly 1000 km2 picturesque rural township in South East Ontario comprised of 43 communities just north of the City of Kingston. The detachment prioritized the SALT initiative based on local criminal activity targeting seniors, other health and safety concerns, and the challenges posed in reaching a rural isolated population.
Strong OPP leadership and commitment at a municipal level made it easy to recruit participation from local community support service agencies, social & recreational community groups and family health teams. Ontario public health units’ mandate to support community partnerships and collaboration, strong existing ties with our policing & municipal partners, and recognition of the need to embrace unique partnerships for fall prevention, made it an easy sell for my agency.
Building on lessons from existing SALT initiatives across the United States and Ontario, the South Frontenac SALT program aims to:
1. ENGAGE –The program will conduct targeted engagement of older adults to form the SALT committee and ongoing community engagement to inform the work of the committee.
2. INFORM – The program will facilitate the development & implementation of educational initiatives such as information sessions and events.
3. CONNECT – The program will identify community resources/services and support referrals to better connect seniors with resources and services.
4. UNITE – The program will bring together law enforcement, community agencies/groups and older adults around a common purpose.
5. PROMOTE - The program will aim to expand its reach through partnerships with media and community agencies & groups.
Work to date has included:
• OPP led engagement session with leads from community groups/agencies;
• Formation of an executive group (representatives from the OPP , the Township, family health teams, community support service agencies, a legal clinic, community groups and public health) to oversee the initial planning & recruitment to establish the SALT Committee;
• Community engagement sessions which included brief presentations on health promotion, frauds and scams targeting older adults, and fall prevention, and provided a forum for recruitment of older adult community members to form the SALT Committee;
• Successful application for a grant through the Municipality to support community engagement and educational activities.
The newly formed SALT Committee will meet as a group for the first time next month!
Do you have a SALT Program in your area? What other unique partnerships have you formed to support your work in fall prevention?