To the Editor:
I recently read that Sheriff Perez announced the inception of the Project Lifesaver program in Hudson County to assist families and caregivers of individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia disorder, as well as families of children suffering from Down Syndrome or autism. Participants in this program wear a wrist bracelet equipped with a small transmitter, which emits a signal that police can track if a loved one wanders from home.
I believe the sheriff should have said the continuation instead of inception of this worthy program. Project Lifesaver was fully functional when I left office.
The Project Lifesaver program was initiated in early 2007 with approximately 20 sheriff’s officers trained in the program. There were a number of individuals being serviced by this program county-wide when I left office at the end of 2007.
Apparently, the new sheriff must have suspended this program upon entering office because I spoke to a woman whose mother was a participant and learned that this “most worthwhile program” (as stated by Perez’s spokesman) was put on hold at the end of my term of office and just recently started again. I can’t imagine the anxiety of the family members of those individuals who were participants of this program during the past year.
In 2007, New Jersey was the first state to have every Sheriff’s Office facilitate Project Lifesaver. Let’s hope for the sake of those individuals in need that there are no more interruptions in this “most worthwhile program” in Hudson County.
JOSEPH T. CASSIDY
Former Sheriff of Hudson County