FULTON, Miss. (WTVA) - The Itawamba County Sheriff's Deparment is branching out using a call tree to make sure certain residents are doing well.
"If you will call the sheriff's department and give us your name, address and phone number, we will call you every day to check on you," says Sheriff Chris Dickinson. "If we don't get an answer, we will knock on the door to make sure you're okay."
Anyone in Itawamba County can sign up to be on the call tree. Every morning between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., the 911 dispatch will go through the list calling each number.
After mulling it over, Sheriff Chris Dickinson says he decided to start the program when hearing a success story from a neighboring county's call tree.
"In Union County, there was an elderly lady that went out into her yard in the extreme heat of the summer and fell and broke her leg," says Dickinson. "Fortunately, she was on [Union County's] call tree."
The program is geared to senior citizens in the area.
The first person to sign up was a 91-year-old lady who wishes it could have been around a lot earlier.
"I fell one time, knocking the refrigerator around," says Lula Mae Moore. "I had to crawl to the door to pull myself up."
The elderly aren't the only ones who can benefit from being on the call tree.
"It can be people who are home from a hospital and may need us to check on them for a week or so," says Dickinson.
The sheriff says the best thing is it's free, and it's a small gesture that won't take up too much time.
"It doesn't cost anything," Dickinson says. "It doesn't cost anything to care about someone."
Ms. Moore thinks it's better to be safe than sorry.
"You never know what could happen," Moore says.
Dickinson says if the program at least eases the mind of one resident, the call tree will be a success.
