Safety coalition still growing, helping

Since 1992, a program has been in place in the district dedicated to promoting safety in the home, schools, and on the streets.
What started out as a modest effort to help people avoid accidents and injury has grown tremendously in scope, Grace Silander, chair of the Rainy River Valley Safety Coalition, told the 14th-annual general meeting and conference of the Rainy River District Municipal Association on Jan. 29 in Barwick.
“When we started in 1992, we had only one program,” she noted. “Today, there are 12.”
That’s 12 and counting.
Silander said the RRVSC is planning to introduce even more programs this year, including some specifically for seniors. She cited a number of examples from last year that she felt were particularly successful and will be continued this year.
These include the bike safety program, the car seat restraint clinics, the D.A.R.E. program in the schools, the bullying curriculum, “Drive Wise,” and a crime prevention program for seniors.
Through all these programs, as well as those proposed for 2005, is one underlying theme: prevention.
“Preventing injuries saves money and lives,” Silander stressed.
She went on to describe new programs for this year (some are extensions of pre-existing ones while others are new), including:
•“Older and Wiser” (fire safety);
•falls safety for seniors;
•a supervised access program to make custody transfers of children of divorced parents less acrimonious and stressful to the children;
•a car seat loaner program in which those who have access to a car but cannot afford an approved child safety seat can borrow one on an as-needed basis;
•“Passport to Safety” (a job re-training program); and
•a parent/grandparent program in which mature adults will be encouraged to mingle and interact with groups of youth.