KENT NEWS: A search and rescue team is expanding its work to help carers of vulnerable people.
Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR) said its Safe and Sound initiative is aimed primarily at those who care for others of all ages.
It is particularly aimed at carers who look after friends and family at home, plus parents, foster parents and those who work with vulnerable people in residential settings.
The organisation said the move will bring together a number of other initiatives designed to help carers reduce the risk of vulnerable people going missing, but also bring them home safe and sound if they do.
The all-volunteer team is used by Kent Police to help search for missing people, but it has decided to tackle the root of the problem.
This includes preventing vulnerable people from going missing in the first place.
And if they do go missing, the team wants carers to have aids in place, such as a recent photo that can be distributed to the media to help with the search efforts.
But the first initiative of the campaign is a reminder to check smoke alarms when the clocks go forward or back, and to use that as a reminder to take a picture of the person a family is concerned about, so they always have an up-to-date photo.
The second initiative is called a Life History Questionnaire. The aim is to record background information about the vulnerable person so if they do go missing this information can be quickly provided to the police and search teams.
Spokesman Matt Hinds-Aldrich said: “We are called out about 40 times a year to help search for someone young, elderly or vulnerable in some other way.
“The idea of taking the picture every time the clocks are changed means we will have something to work with immediately.
“Often at the moment, we are being given a picture of someone from several Christmases ago and they are on the back row third from left.
“That means the face is tiny and out of date. Keeping a new picture will always help in these matters.”
He said over the past few years, most of the people they have searched for have been found safe and sound, which is often down to getting all the right information immediately.
KSAR works closely with Kent Police and other agencies, and is funded exclusively by public donations and support.
For more information, visit www.ksar.co.uk or phone 01843 832995.
POSTED: 13/03/2010 13:00:00
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