Keeping You Informed

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce the recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, 2021.

A luncheon has been planned at the Douglas County Senior Center located at 1329 Waterloo Lane in Gardnerville. The luncheon is open to all seniors, serving at 12:00 p.m. The cost of the lunch is $7 for those under 60, and $3 for those over 60 years of age.

Douglas County’s Good Neighbor Program could become a model for ways communities reach out to their most vulnerable residents.

“Obviously there was a need, but we didn’t know how much of a need until we got into it,” Sheriff Dan Coverley said on Monday. “It’s a good model that other agencies are showing an interest and we could see these types of programs in other counties. Douglas County can’t be the only county that has this need.”

In April 2021, the Good Neighbor Program was highlighted in the Community Policing Dispatch, the award-winning e-newsletter of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), a program within the Department Of Justice.  

Good Neighbor Program: A Law Enforcement Program Worth Replicating.

"Our population has a large retirement community, and I am grateful that my employer Sheriff Dan Coverley believes as I do, that protecting our older Americans is important, and has given me the ability to grow this program."

The Department of Justice approved a grant award of $44,000 to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) for the fiscal year of 2020-2021, assisting with funding for the DCSO Good Neighbor program.

Sheriff Dan Coverley says,
Senior citizens are a large and vital part of our community. We must do all that we can to support and protect them. The Good Neighbor Program assists the Sheriff’s Office in doing just that.

During a recent Caring Neighbors visit with a senior, it was determined that the senior was sending money through wire transfers and delivery services for the past 20 months. When asked why the senior was doing this, the reply was, "It was to pay the taxes on the lottery winnings."

The program was designed to let the seniors of Douglas County know that they are not alone, cared about, and an integral part of the community. It is well established that people live longer when they have friends and connections in the community, and live healthier lives. Friendships are central to human relationships and those interactions sometimes become less with seniors, which could result in depression.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, along with Douglas County Social Services and members of a community task force are presenting a new program called “Caring Neighbors” that will begin January 11, 2017.