HOUSTON – The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office launched the “Take Me Home” program to help law enforcement officers easily find and return loved ones who are at risk of wandering.
The program was 15 months in the making, all to better serve the Fort Bend Community.
Here is how it works
In the new program, developed by the Pensacola Police Department, families can register their loved ones with cognitive disabilities such as Autism, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and down syndrome. If that family member were to ever get lost, law enforcement officials could use the information on the database to search or identify a loved one and their care needs and then return them safely.
“Once you are approved, you fill out a form and upload a photo of your loved one and that’s it,” said Sgt. Matthew Hricko. “It stays in a secured database at the fort bend county sheriff’s office and it’s only accessible by law enforcement.”
“This program is so beneficial to me and my family, because I have a 9-year-old in the Autism spectrum, non-verbal,” Caroline Boordelon said. “And there was an instance where he has eloped several years ago. That was scary -- still scary to this day because the first thing I wake up doing as a scared parent of a child on the spectrum is checking to see if my door is locked.”
Fort Bend County residents can request access and signup online. To register an individual online, you submit a current digital picture, demographic information and caregiver contact information. Click here to register a loved one.