MOUNT VERNON — Funding from the Knox County Foundation will enable the Knox County Sheriff’s Office to continue its partnership with Project Lifesaver, a search and rescue program for people with cognitive impairment.
The KCSO will use the grant money to buy vital equipment such as batteries, bracelets, antennaes, and locators.
According to a KCSO press release, Project Lifesaver is the leading force nationally and internationally for expedited search and rescue for children and adults prone to wandering due to cognitive impairments such as autism, dementia, brain injury, Down syndrome and others.
These special-focus search-and-rescue efforts have unique challenges that typical search-and-rescue can’t address. KCSO Lt. James Ferenbaugh, Project Lifesaver coordinator, said those challenges are why so many of the standard traditional efforts are unsuccessful.
“It’s impossible to put a price or valuation on the impact we can have for caregivers and their loved ones right here in our community,” Ferenbaugh said in the release. “Our goal is to locate and reunite missing loved ones with their families as safely and quickly as possible.”
He noted that often members of this population are unable to recognize and avoid the dangers they face when they’re lost, nor can many help themselves be found alive.
About Project Lifesaver
The nonprofit was first established in April 1999 in Chesapeake, VA. It is now also based in Port St. Lucie, FL, and is the most widely used and proven-effective solution of its kind, according to the release.
The worst-case scenarios were not uncommon prior to the founding of Project Lifesaver, when these missions typically took hours, days or longer.
With the knowledge and expertise of trained and equipped local Project Lifesaver electronic search specialists responding to the call, what historically can involve days, or even weeks, and tremendous human, financial and other public resources now typically takes only one to three trained responders less than 30 minutes from arriving on-scene, with no extra expense or public search assembly.
Ferenbaugh said the KCSO is honored to partner with Project Lifesaver and supports its growing national efforts to advance legislation that ensures law enforcement, educators, and other professionals receive proper training to recognize signs of cognitive impairment.
Through this partnership, the sheriff’s office aims to promote greater awareness, enhance understanding, and improve everyday interactions so that individuals with cognitive challenges are treated with dignity, safety and compassion, leading to the best possible outcomes for all involved.
Project Lifesaver International continues to expand into new territories as word of and demand for this invaluable program spread through communities in need.
Click here to learn more about qualifying and enrolling locally or call Ferenbaugh at 740-399-3903.
