THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 Page 13 Cicatelli’s 21st season leading Revere HS Football Daily Check-In Services for Seniors Living Alone Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend any services that check in on elderly seniors who live alone? I live about 200 miles from my 82-yearold mother and worry about her falling or getting ill and not being able to call for help. Worrywart Daughter Dear Worrywart, There are actually several different types of check-in services, along with some simple technology devices that can help keep your mom safe at home while providing you some peace of mind. Here are some top options to look into. Check-in app: If your mom uses a smartphone, a great solution to help ensure her safety is Snug (SnugSafe.com), a free app that would check in on her every day to confi rm she’s OK. This app is used by thousands of elderly seniors who live alone and want to make sure that if something happens to them, their loved ones will be notifi ed quickly so they can receive help in minutes, rather than days. Here’s how it works. After downloading the app, your mom will choose what time(s) throughout the day she’d like for Snug to check in. Snug will send a push notifi cation at those times asking your mom to check in by tapping the big green check button on her smartphone screen. If she doesn’t check in within 10 minutes or respond after multiple pings, Snug will notify her emergency contacts and share her last known location so that she can receive fast help. For extra peace of mind, your mom can purchase Snug’s premium plan ($10/month) where in addition to notifying her emergency contacts, Snug will request an in-person wellness check by a police offi cer who will visit her house to confi rm she’s OK and provide assistance as needed. The app works with iPhone and Android smartphones. Check-in calls: If your mom doesn’t use a smartphone, another option to help ensure her safety is a daily check-in call service program. These are telephone reassurance programs usually run by police or sheriff’s departments in hundreds of counties across the country and are usually provided free of charge. Here’s how they work. A computer automated phone system would call your mom at a designated time each day to check in. If she answers, the system will assume everything is OK. But if she didn’t pick up or if the call goes to voice mail after repeated tries, you (or whoever her designee is) would get a notifi cation call. If you are not reachable, calls are then made to backup people who’ve also agreed to check on your mom if necessary. The fallback is if no one can be reached, the police or other emergency services personnel will be dispatched to her home. To find out if this service is available in your mom’s community, call her local police department’s nonemergency number. You should also check with the Area Agency on Aging in your mom’s area – call 800-677-1116 for contact information. If, however, her community doesn’t have a call check-in program, there are businesses like CARE (Call-Reassurance.com) and IAmFine (Iamfi ne.com) that off er similar services for under $15 per month. Technology devices: You may also want to invest in some simple technology aids to keep your mom safe. One of the most commonly used devices for this is a medical alert system that cost about $1 per day. These systems come with a wearable “help button” that would allow her to call for help 24/7. Another option that’s becoming increasingly popular is smart speakers, like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. These devices work with third-party applications – AskMyBuddy.net and MySOSFamily.com – that would let your mom to call multiple emergency contacts with a simple verbal command. And be sure to check out Amazon’s Alexa Together (Amazon. com/AlexaTogether), a new $20 monthly subscription service that helps families support and keep tabs on their older loved ones who live alone through an Alexa-enabled device. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. Better Business Bureau warns to be cautious about what you share on social media W ith the school year starting again, social media is full of adorable back-to-school photos. Often these pictures feature a child holding a “fi rst day of school” sign with basic information, such as their name and grade. But before you jump on the trend and snap a similar picELECTION | FROM Page 1 state Attorney General Maura Healey and State Senator Sonia Rosa Chang-Diaz are on the ballot, and lieutenant governor, where there is a three-way race between Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, State Representative Tami Gouvíea and State Senator Eric Lesser. Andrea Campbell, Shannon Liss-Riordan and Quentin Palfrey are all on the ballot for Attorney General, although this week Palfrey announced he was ending his campaign and throwing his support behind Campbell. Also on the Democratic side, longtime Secretary of State William Galvin is being challenged by Tanisha Sullivan, and Christopher Dempsey and Diana DiZoglio are running for auditor. Current Suff olk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden is being challenged by Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo. In the Republican primary, Geoff Diehl and Chris Doughty are the candidates for govture of your little one, read these tips and be cautious about what you share. Back-to-school photo tips • Avoid sharing personal details about your child. Back-to-school photos often involve kids holding a board with their full name, age, height and other details. Scamernor, and former State Representatives Leah Allen and Kate Campanale are on the ballot for lieutenant governor. Revere voters can look up their precincts and voting locations on the homepage of the city’s website at revere.org. The city’s polling locations were a topic of discussion at last week’s City Council meeting, as Fahey sought the council’s approval for the election warrant and police coverage at the polling locations. Under the new state VOTES Act, the council needs to give its approval for the number of police offi cers at polling locations. The council unanimously approved having one offi cer at each polling location, as requested by Police Chief David Callahan. Councillor-at-Large Dan Rizzo raised some questions about the polling locations, noting that there have been a number of changes in the past several years, especially in Ward 3, where all voters now vote at the high school. “We should have certain voting locations that mers or predators could use this information to commit identity theft or earn your child’s trust. • Leave off information about kids’ schools. Even sharing the name of your child’s school, teacher or grade level could SCHOOL | SEE Page 16 people can go vote at and depend on,” said Rizzo. “It’s like a moving target.” Fahey said the Election Commission is trying to keep polling locations as stable as possible and will be analyzing data after the general election to help determine how turnout is at the current locations. Fahey also noted that in the past Ward 3 had a polling location at St. Anthony’s Church but with “reprecincting” St. Anthony’s is no longer in Ward 3. Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna noted that all voting in her ward is at the Beachmont School but some residents live relatively far from the school. She also said she would like to see better signage at the school on election day. Fahey said the election commission will provide better signage. He also noted that the current eff ort is to keep polling locations consistent, but if the data comes in and there is a compelling case to change polling locations, especially in Ward 1, it will be considered. T he longest-standing head coach in the GBL, entering his 21st season, is Revere High’s Lou Cicatelli. He and the Revere Patriots will embark on the 2022 campaign with two consecutive nonleague games: Opening the season will be two straight road games, at Peabody on Friday, September 9 at 7:00 p.m. and then hosting Plymouth North on September 16 at 6:00 p.m. Revere opens its GBL schedule on Thursday, September 22 versus Medford at 6:00 p.m.
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