Winter Weather Welfare Checks on Seniors

The cold winter weather presents many dangers especially for the elderly.  The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging the community to look out for one another, especially those over 65 years of age.  Oconee County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Jimmy Watt gives details about winter weather welfare checks. “This cold snap that we are in is not just affecting us here in the Upstate; it is also affecting everyone across the country.  One of the things that we highly recommend that you do is if you have family members or individuals that you know are elderly especially, call and check up on them to make sure they are doing OK.  Make sure that they have heat and that their water is OK and they have plenty of food.  It is during times like this; regardless if you are in law enforcement or not, we got to look out for one another and make sure everybody is doing OK.” Watt says call local law enforcement if you cannot get in touch with an elderly loved one and need a welfare check conducted. “I would get in touch with local law enforcement and see if that can be done.  I know many times we do that not for instances like this for example but a lot of times we have done welfare checks when there have been concerns about family members safety.  Obviously, if it is a situation where you know someone who is elderly and maybe you can’t check up on them, it might be worth giving a call to local law enforcement and saying can you go by and check up on somebody and make sure they are doing OK.”  In addition, check on your neighbors to see if they are equipped to handle the fridge cold temperatures.