Free check-in calls for seniors in California
In California the usual name is YANA, You Are Not Alone, run by sheriffs, police or county senior services. Three are below, and one nonprofit that 211 lists as calling people anywhere.
Read on . Programs change their hours, their rules and sometimes stop. Ring the number on the program's own page before you count on it.
Programs we could confirm
You Are Not Alone (YANA)
A check-in call Monday to Friday before 10 am, and a weekly visit from the Volunteer Sheriff's Patrol. After three unanswered attempts, volunteers go to the home, and a deputy is called if there is a problem. Free.
- Run by
- San Diego County Sheriff's Office
- Covers
- Areas the Sheriff's Office covers in San Diego County
- Who can join
- Elderly, disabled and shut-in residents with no friends or family to check on them regularly.
- How to sign up
- Call or take the enrollment form to the local sheriff's station.
- Source
- sdsheriff.gov, read on
Y.A.N.A. (You Are Not Alone)
A daily safety call between 8 and 10 am. After three attempts, family, friends or neighbors are contacted, then local law enforcement. No charge; contributions are welcome.
- Run by
- El Dorado County Senior Services
- Covers
- El Dorado County
- Who can join
- El Dorado County residents 60 and over who live alone, or couples.
- How to sign up
- 530-621-6150.
- Source
- eldoradocounty.ca.gov, read on
You Are Not Alone (YANA)
Pre-arranged calls from police volunteers. If several calls go unanswered, the program coordinator does a welfare check. Free.
- Run by
- Riverside Police Department
- Covers
- City of Riverside
- Who can join
- Riverside residents, seniors or homebound people living alone with no local family or friends.
- How to sign up
- 951-826-5900, or the interest form.
- Source
- riversideca.gov, read on
Eskaton Telephone Reassurance
Free daily calls 365 days a year from program staff, with safety and wellness checks.
- Run by
- Eskaton, Carmichael
- Covers
- Listed by 211 as nationwide
- Who can join
- Open to anyone; meant for seniors and disabled adults.
- How to sign up
- (888) 670-1360 or (866) 375-2866.
- Source
- search.ne211.org, read on
Riverside's page still shows an old number in a COVID notice. Use 951-826-5900.
If none of these covers her town
- Eldercare Locator, a free federal service: 1-800-677-1116, or eldercare.acl.gov. It connects you to the Area Agency on Aging for her county. Ask for "telephone reassurance" by name.
- 211 from a phone in her area. It lists local services, call programs included.
- The sheriff's office or police department for her town, on the non-emergency line. Some run a daily call for older residents and only mention it when asked.
What to ask before you sign her up
- Does it call every day, or only on weekdays? What about holidays?
- What happens on a missed call, and how long until somebody is told?
- Who is told: you, a neighbor, a deputy at the door?
- Is there a waiting list, an age rule or a county rule?
How Care is different from a free program
If one of these programs covers her and fits her day, start there. It costs nothing, and some of them send a volunteer or a deputy to the door, which no phone service can do.
Care is a paid, automated call, not a volunteer and not a public office. It rings at the time you set, in her time zone, on the days you choose, weekends included. Any phone works, a landline too.
When she does not answer, it rings again ten minutes later and sends a text to her phone, then once more at twenty-five minutes. Then the people on your list are told by text and email, one after another, until somebody confirms. Nobody is sent to her house: the people you listed decide what happens next.
It is not an emergency service, it is not a medical device and it cannot detect a fall. Every call says so, and tells her to hang up and dial 911 if she needs help now.
Questions
- Are daily check-in calls for seniors free in California?
- Many are. Most programs on this page say they are free or have no charge. A few do not state a cost, so ask when you call.
- Who runs telephone reassurance programs?
- Usually the Area Agency on Aging for the county, a sheriff's office or police department, a senior center, or a volunteer group.
- What happens if my parent does not answer a free check-in call?
- It depends on the program. Some call a named contact, some send a volunteer or a deputy. Each program's own page, or a call to its number, will tell you.
- Can we use a free program and a paid check-in call together?
- Yes. Some families keep a volunteer who calls for a chat once or twice a week and add a short automated call every morning.