Peace of Mind is a wellness call-in program offered to Sumter County residents by the Sumter County Sheriff’s office. As part of their non-traditional law enforcement programs, the call-in program is offered to residents who live alone or two-person households in which one person is acting is the care- giver. Participants call-in each morning and let the volunteer manning the phones know that they are A-OK.
If a participant hasn’t been heard from by a designated time, a plan is followed to locate the person. Fortunately most of the time a missed call is the result of the participant not remembering to call, but sometimes the circumstances are more serious and that is when the sheriff visits the home to take care of the situation.
Currently the program has 66 participants varying in age from people in their 60’s to 90’s.Village of Winifred resident Judy Brzezinski is a participant. After her husband died and with no other family in the area, Brzezinski though it made good sense to participate.
“It is nice to know someone is checking on you,” she said. Fortunately she has never needed any assistance, but says it really does give her peace of mind knowing help will be there should she need it in the future.
As a volunteer herself, Brzezinski appreciates the friendliness of the volunteers she talks to each morning.
“I don’t take up too much time, I know they have a lot of phone calls, but it is always a nice conversation,” she said.
Early risers can call in early and leave a message, but any calls that come in after 8 a.m. are answered by a volunteer. Mike Petix has volunteered for two years and loves every minute of it. He became aware of this program and all the Sumter county Sheriff’s office does by attending the Citizen’s Academy.
“I really wanted to help, once I learned what all they do,” said Petix.”You think of the sheriff as who you see when you are in trouble or getting a ticket, but in reality what they do is so far above and beyond that, what all they do is really remarkable. I just wanted to give back.”
Petix certainly has the right temperament for this volunteer job. He says he feels a friendship with those he talks to on a regular basis.
“I am never too busy to talk. If a caller needs to talk-we talk.” He takes the time to listen. He also has some fun with those who have forgotten to call. “Usually there has been a change in their morning routine, once we know they are ok, you can have a little fun because you have developed that friendship.”
Petix lives in the Village of Ashland and performs with the Villages Swing Band. He counts the other volunteers as friends and finds the work so rewarding, he would do it every day if he could. However, that is not likely to happen anytime soon because he is part of team of about 20 volunteers and there is a waitlist for this particular volunteer job.
If you would like more information about Peace of Mind, contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Villages Annex at (352) 569-6600.
