Fairfield County Bank joined with CRA Partners to help vulnerable seniors by funding the Senior Crimestoppers program to protect those who live and work in Augustus Manor in Stamford and the Bridgeport Elderly Apartments.
CRA Partners, powered by the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation, is a national organization that offers banks federally mandated CRA credit through the operation of the turnkey Senior Crimestoppers program providing safe and secure living environments for our nation’s low-to-moderate income seniors.
In addition to funding the program, Fairfield County Bank’s Security Advisor, George Taylor, presented to residents about the importance of avoiding scams. He touched on different technique’s criminals may use to take advantage of the elderly, such as impersonating family members or the bank. Mr. Taylor will return to each of the facilities to offer a more in-depth discussion on crimes against the elderly and how to prevent it.
Crime against the elderly in our society is a longstanding, constant battle that can be reduced and prevented through the operation of the Senior Crimestoppers program in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Senior Crimestoppers is a coordinated set of components that work together to create a zero tolerance to crime platform in senior housing facilities. Components include cash rewards up to $1,000 paid anonymously for information about wrongdoing of any kind, personal lockboxes for the residents, and effective, on-going education and training for staff members and residents. Senior Crimestoppers has reduced all aspects of crime in participating facilities by 95%.
“Senior Crimestoppers is a way for an administrator to further enhance the lives of the residents they serve. They all work very hard to provide safe, secure, comfortable living environments and their desire to implement the program is just one more example of this. Implementing this program does not mean that the facility currently has a crime problem, but that the administrator is proactively finding a way to keep problems from occurring in the future,” said Terry Rooker, president of Senior Crimestoppers.