Free check-in calls for seniors in Virginia
In Virginia, sheriffs and county aging offices run these calls locally. Two we could confirm are below; elsewhere, ask the local Area Agency on Aging.
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
ConfirmOK
An automated call every day at a time she picks; she answers and presses 1. If the call is not answered or confirmed, the office takes further steps to make sure she is safe. Free to enroll.
- Run by
- York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office
- Covers
- York County and Poquoson
- Who can join
- Senior citizens in York County and Poquoson.
- How to sign up
- 757-890-3639, or the online form.
- Source
- yorkcounty.gov, read on
Telephone Reassurance
Volunteers call daily or weekly to check on her well-being.
- Run by
- Chesterfield County Aging and Disability Resources
- Covers
- Chesterfield County
- Who can join
- Older adults and disabled adults who live alone or feel isolated.
- How to sign up
- 804-768-7878.
- Source
- chesterfield.gov, read on
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 Virginia?
- 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.