THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9510010035
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
``We are coming.''
That was the warning to those who prey on the elderly and the infirm in the United States as Crime Stoppers International announced a new initiative Saturday to aid 3 million nursing-home residents.
``We intend to eliminate the problems of theft, crime and abuse that have plagued the elderly residents of the facilities for too long,'' said Charles C. King III, president of the Memphis-based USI Alliance Corp., who announced the initiative at the end of a weeklong conference of Crime Stoppers delegates from the U.S., Canada, England and Australia.
King said the program, called ``Senior Crimestoppers,'' will be a partnership between financial institutions, the nursing home industry, Crime Stoppers, relatives and friends of nursing home residents, and the residents themselves.
``We are going to use the proven Crime Stoppers system of anonymous tips and cash rewards'' to stop crime against the elderly, said Larry Widea, president of Crime Stoppers.
A toll-free, nationwide 800 number will be used, and each participating nursing home will, in essence, become a Crime Stoppers chapter, organizers said.
``It is time that our elderly, those who have contributed so much to our country and society, be looked after and protected,'' King said. ``They are so vulnerable to crime by others.''
To help launch the effort, USI Alliance Corp. gave $10,000 Saturday. by CNB