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Triad works together to empower and educate seniors

Date: 11/16/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW -- Three is a powerful number. It's a holy number in Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Wicca. In China, it's considered a lucky number. According to the Pythagoreans, three was the noblest of all digits.

It's a powerful number when it comes to the senior citizens of East Longmeadow as well.

The three parts of Triad -- a community partnership intended to reduce criminal activity and increase safety are law enforcement, support services and seniors.

The East Longmeadow Police Department and Fire Department, the Hampden County Sheriff's Office, the town's Council on Aging and G.S.S. Protective Services all work together to make Triad effective.

In an effort to better reach out to the community, Triad's S.A.L.T. (Seniors and Law Enforcement Together) Council hosted a meeting at Bluebird Estates on Nov. 6. Triad meets the first Friday of every month at 9 a.m., usually at the Pleasant View Senior Center on North Main Street.

Members of the S.A.L.T. Council introduced themselves to residents of Bluebird Estates that were interested in the organization before their meeting last Friday. A program the group is working on right now is getting battery-operated lanterns to seniors throughout town to replace candle use in times of emergency, since candles can be dangerous.

"The lanterns are $1 each, but they take four AA batteries," Triad member Ed Brown explained. "We're looking for donations of either batteries or money to purchase batteries to give these out to the needy."

Despite the fact that Triad has no real operating budget, it provides other useful services to the town's seniors, like creating a File of Life, a plastic magnetic folder in which important medical information is contained, which is often placed on a refrigerator. Members of Triad also collaborate with the fire and police departments to ensure house numbers are properly placed and visible in case of an emergency.

Herve Gousy, a resident at Bluebird Estates, said the Nov. 6 meeting was the first Triad meeting he had attended. He liked being able to voice his concerns and he also liked the File of Life, which he said "would've made it a lot easier when my wife was taken to the hospital."

"I'll definitely attend future meetings," Gousy said. "There are issues here. The more contacts, the more information there is, the better."

Police Chief Doug Mellis agreed. "Triad helps us help them," he said of the seniors involved. "[The police department] works cooperatively with them on our shred days and Triad is supportive at National Night Out. It's definitely a good partnership."

The next Triad meeting is scheduled for Dec. 4 at the senior center. For more information on the organization, contact Ed Bowen at 525-5436.