Firefighters, troopers support seniors in ‘Santa Cop’ program

MAT-SU — More firefighters than cops are participating in the program initially titled “Santa Cop and Heroes” this year, but more than 100 seniors will still benefit.

The name of the program changed to include “and Heroes” a few years ago, but this may be the first year since it officially began in 2007 that no city police officers are participating.

Mat-Su Senior Services Development Manager Donna Harding said it’s up to the Butte, Palmer, Wasilla (Central Mat-Su) and Willow fire departments, and the Alaska State Troopers from Talkeetna to deliver gifts to seniors in the Mat-Su Borough.

That’s just the way it is.

Harding said the number of beneficiaries decreased to 102 this year, but there are a couple of logical explanations for that.

“Number one, it’s been a mild winter, so seniors are not spending their limited income on high utilities,” she said. “Number two, the PFD was a little bit bigger this year.”

Harding also suggested a possible increase in senior citizen-assisting agencies as a reason for the decrease in seniors’ needs for Santa Cop services.

“It isn’t because we haven’t tried,” she said. “It’s actually a good thing, when you think about it, that there aren’t that many people that are in dire need.”

And all those who applied were matched with a firefighter or trooper, Harding said.

This is the first year that seniors have been individually matched with a “Santa” from the community, but many aspects of the program remain the same. Just as in years past, Mat-Su Senior Services sends applications to six Valley senior centers, which then distribute the paperwork to seniors via personal caretakers or care coordinators.

Sometimes, though, the seniors contact them directly.

“Seniors call us because they’ve heard” about Santa Cop, Harding said.

The only requirements are that the person is 60 or older, lives alone and is “at risk of being alone on Christmas Day.”

“If they’re a senior couple and have no family, they still qualify,” Harding said.

The next step is to make a wish list. Sponsoring Santas are asked to spend a minimum of $100, and since the seniors can also sign up to receive a Christmas meal or meals from the annual Christmas Friendship Dinner at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, they can ask for things they want, not just for basic needs like food.

On Christmas Day, the troopers and firefighters come into play. To ensure a certain level of comfort, responders drive to seniors’ homes in uniform or in a marked car and present the gifts, but that’s not the end of their duties.

“While there, they conduct what we call a welfare check,” making sure the home has working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, for example, Harding said. “Anything that looks like it might be a safety issue.”

Perhaps one of the biggest safety issues, however, requires a plowman’s care.

A snow plowman, that is.

Through fundraisers and with donations received throughout the year, Senior Services has been able to pay a professional to clear up driveways for seniors who are physically or economically unable to do the work.

With the all the precipitation Alaska sees during the winter, slipping on the ice is a serious issue for everyone, especially seniors. According to the Alaska Senior Fall Prevention Coalition, of which Harding is a part, “accidental falls are the No. 1 cause of injury to Alaskans age 65 and older.”

But the main reason Santa Cop and Heroes exists, Harding said, is to give people a chance to celebrate the holiday season when their hope of having one is at — quite possibly — it’s lowest point.

“I think that because of the passion, compassion that (volunteers) have for those individuals, those seniors who may be at home without anybody on Christmas Day, is really what the true meaning of the Christmas spirit is,” she said.

Volunteers are still needed and welcome to show up and lend their hands to the big gift-wrapping event planned starting at 10 a.m., Saturday in the Mat-Su Senior Citizens Center, 1132 S. Chugach St.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.