Senior Volunteer Patrol Comes To Julian

Jim Barker, Supervisor for the new Julian Senior Volunteer Patrol. Photo by Jim Evans

By Jim Evans

Aide Jackie Cox says, kiddingly, that she is just a “glorified house mouse” at the Julian Sheriff’s substation — which means she does a little bit of everything. But Cox, originally from Imperial Beach, who has worked as a veterinarian assistant, horse carriage driver, park ranger, bartender, ranch caretaker, and banker since she moved to Julian in 1987, has recently found herself busy working with volunteers in training for Julian’s first Senior Volunteer Patrol.

“Jackie has been a great asset in helping us get off the ground,” says Deputy Jim Barker who supervises the new program. Barker, a 24-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department — the past 19 years in Julian — is enthusiastic about working with the senior volunteers. “It is extremely gratifying to work with such a dedicated group of people,” says Barker. “They have so much personal experience and maturity to contribute to our department. Sometimes I enjoy just sitting back and listening to them tell stories of all the things they have experienced in their lives. It is their life experiences — together with our professional training — that will make them so valuable in serving the community.”

“It’s been in the planning for a long time,” says Cox excitedly, “and we are so pleased to finally have our own Senior Volunteer Patrol. We already have 10 senior volunteers — 4 from Julian and 6 from the communities of Ranchito, and Warner Springs — who have completed their classroom training and will be ready to go on patrol in the next 30 days.”

The 60 hours of intense classroom training — under the guidance of deputies Jason King and Keith Nye — involved volunteer policies and procedures, maintaining logs, radio training, traffic control, handicap violations, vacation checks, vehicle abatement, report writing, and more. Each of the volunteers are now serving as “ride-alongs” with law enforcement officials and established senior patrol volunteers for on-the-job training before being fitted for their uniforms and badges.

At least one official vehicle has already been obtained for patrolling — a Crown Victoria with a complete radio communications system installed. “All of the senior patrol volunteers will follow the buddy system — two volunteers working together — and those volunteers over 55 will also be required to further participate in 55 Alive, the nationally recognized driver safety program hosted by AARP,” says Cox.

The Senior Volunteer Patrol is part of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), a branch of Senior Corps, which is a network of national service programs providing older Americans the opportunity to apply their life experience to meeting community needs. RSVP volunteers serve in a diverse range of nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and faith-based groups. Among other activities, they mentor at-risk youth, organize neighborhood watch programs, test drinking water for contaminants, teach English to immigrants, and lend their business skills to community groups that provide critical social services. In fiscal year 2001, approximately 480,000 volunteers served an average of four hours a week at an estimated 65,000 local organizations (www.seniorcorps.org).

RSVP is open to people age 55 and over. Partners/Operations Local organizations, both public and private, receive grants to sponsor and operate RSVP projects in their community. In San Diego, RSVP is sponsored by the Department of Aging and Independence Services, a division of the Health and Human Services Agency of the County of San Diego. These projects offer seniors the opportunity to serve from a few hours a month to almost full time, though the average commitment is four hours a week. Most volunteers are paired with local community and faith-based organizations that are already helping to meet community needs.

RSVP volunteers are not paid, but sponsoring organizations may reimburse them for some costs incurred during service. RSVP provides appropriate volunteer insurance coverage, and volunteers receive pre-service orientation and in-service training from the agency or organization where they are placed.

Readers interested in volunteering to serve on the new Senior Volunteer Patrol in Julian should contact Deputy James Barker at (858) 694-3303 or Jackie Cox at (858) 694-3322. For other volunteer opportunities throughout the county, contact RSVP at (858) 505-6399.