On Wednesday, December 14th, participants from the Rochester Police Department’s Project Good Morning (PGM) program met at Granite Steak and Grill for the annual holiday breakfast, which for the past few years has been generously donated and prepared by Granite Steak and Grill.
Communication Specialists (dispatchers) from the Police/Fire/EMS Department organize the event and get small gifts to exchange with the PGM members as well. Communications staff and PGM members meet to eat and share stories and laughs together so the PGM members can put a face to the friendly voices they hear on the phone every morning.
In 1995, Project Good Morning was designed to assist senior citizens of the community, who live alone, to continue an independent lifestyle. Project Good Morning members and their families are provided with the security of knowing that the member will have a daily contact source to check in with.
To be eligible for the Project Good Morning Program, participants must be a resident of the City of Rochester to complete an application. Once an application has been completed it will be forwarded to the project coordinator, who will then communicate with the applicant to explain the program.
Once accepted into the program, Project members contact the Police Department daily between 6am and 10am to check in with a communications specialist. If a member does not make contact by 10am, a communications specialist will attempt to make contact with the member. If the specialist is unsuccessful, a patrol unit and/or other emergency personnel will be sent to the address to conduct a welfare check on the member to ensure there are no life safety issues.
To learn more about the program, contact the Rochester Police Department. You can visit in person, call (603) 330-7128, visit police.rochesternh.gov, or click here.