BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) - As Sheriff Chad Schmidt was scrolling through Facebook this fall, he couldn’t help but notice a post from a member of the local Meals on Wheels program seeking more volunteer delivery drivers.
Schmidt didn’t need to think twice before contacting Meals on Wheels Assistant Director Vicki Gardner, asking what his department could do to help. It didn’t take long before Schmidt met with Bennington Meals on Wheels Executive Director Ilsa Svoboda and established a plan: from this October forward, members of the Bennington Sheriff’s Department will volunteer their time to deliver meals to Bennington residents in need once a week.
Sergeant Lloyd Dean was the first to complete a route on Friday, Oct. 19. Alongside Meals on Wheels volunteer Brian Seitz, he visited ten elderly residents to deliver ten meals throughout downtown Bennington, which is the current route the Sheriff’s Department has been assigned. Each Friday, one of approximately five Sheriff’s Department members will devote their time to delivering these meals.
“This all started when an organization reached out for help,” Schmidt said. “If organizations in town are struggling and need help, they need to reach out the community. I just happened to be scrolling through my (Facebook) news feed and saw this and started a dialogue (with Gardner) and here we are.”
Schmidt said the opportunity was perfect for both the Sheriff’s Department and Meals on Wheels since Meals on Wheels needed the help and the Sheriff’s Department makes a point to focus on community policing. Not only does it help the Sheriff’s Department interact positively with the community, it helps elderly residents in more ways than one.
“I don’t know if the community really knows this, but it’s not just about delivering meals,” Schmidt said. “These are people who are probably traditionally shut in or don’t have the mobility; they don’t see a lot of people or may not have a lot of friends or family. So I think a lot of them see this as a way to interact with someone.”
In addition to elderly residents looking forward to a hot meal and a friendly face, Meals on Wheels can also serve as a welfare check, a way to get a balanced and nutritious meal, and a time for much-needed socialization.
“A lot of the clients…were very glad to see me,” Dean said.
During his first day of delivery, Dean says he took “a bunch of notes” about the route and about each meal recipient, not just for himself but for other department members who volunteer.
“Meals on Wheels has the system down pat,” he remarked, explaining that the organization keeps tabs of each recipient’s name, address, phone number, dietary restrictions, and any other useful information that volunteers need to know before entering the home.
“I took notes on every house we went to,” he said.
Some recipients request that the volunteer pick up the newspaper or mail before they deliver the meal, Dean said.
The Friday route will vary each week from ten to 14 houses, and deputies will have a chance to sit down and chat with each recipient.
Ideally, approximately five deputies will participate as volunteers: enough so there is a volunteer available each week but not too many so the seniors are not overwhelmed with too many names and faces to remember.
Schmidt says he sent an email about the program to his deputies and received “four immediate responses” from deputies who wanted to participate.
“It’s not like we have to twist their arm,” Schmidt added. “They are people who are engaged and want to do good things for the community. This gives them that opportunity.”
He hopes the Sheriff’s Department’s involvement in the program will continue as long as possible.
“If anything, they’re probably going to convince us to do some more routes because Bennington isn’t the only area they serve,” Schmidt said.
The Sheriff’s Department has participated in voluntary community service before, like delivering Thanksgiving meals to the needy as part of the Eagles Club and driving people home for the SafeRide program to combat impaired driving, but this is the first time it will participate in a program so frequently.
“This is going to be every week instead of once a year,” Schmidt said.
“It goes along with our commitment to giving back to the community,” Dean added. “This is just a way to further promote the Sheriff’s Department. That way, citizens get to see law enforcement without their game face on- as normal human beings, as a friendly person knocking on the door- not answering the noise complaint at their home or any other law enforcement action.”
The Sheriff’s Department hopes this new endeavor will help build trust within the community for all law enforcement.
“People see us usually in not-so-great circumstances and that’s only five percent of the time,” Schmidt said. “But the other ninety-five percent of the time we probably aren’t the best at showcasing to the community that, hey, we are normal people. We’re approachable, we’re friendly, we care about the same things you do.”
“We all do these things on a daily basis,” Dean said. “We do it because one: we want to do it and two: it’s our job. But we’re now doing a better job of letting people know that we do these things for the community. We don’t earn any extra money for it; it’s just what we do.”
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Information from: Bennington Banner, http://www.benningtonbanner.com
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