The bedford county emergency management agency (BCEMA) will utilize this funding to establish and operate a holistic, locally based, proactive program to locate or prevent the wandering of individuals…

The Bedford County Emergency Management Agency (BCEMA) was awarded a $150,000 Project Grant by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Assistance Program (CFDA 16.015). The grant will be used to establish and operate the "Bringing the Lost Home" program, which aims to locate and prevent wandering incidents for individuals with dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, or developmental disabilities, such as autism. The program will utilize non-restrictive interventions, including tracking technologies, to improve search and rescue capabilities for these vulnerable populations. BCEMA will partner with local law enforcement, schools, hospitals, and community organizations to raise awareness, develop individual preparedness plans, and ensure a coordinated response to locate missing persons. The award period is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2027.

The bedford county emergency management agency (BCEMA) will utilize this funding to establish and operate a holistic, locally based, proactive program to locate or prevent the wandering of individuals with forms of dementia such as alzheimers disease or developmental disabilities such as autism, who due to their condition, wander from safe environments. The proposed bringing the lost home project will assist emergency personnel in improving the search performance for locating missing residents, especially these populations that have a high propensity to wander. The BCEMA plans to purchase the bringing the lost home (BLH) program from scent evidence K9. The BLH project utilizes non-restrictive interventions in preparing individuals and families, and in responding to individuals who have wandered from safe environments. The lead agency of the BLH project is bedford county emergency management. The BCEMA will partner with law enforcement, bedford county school district, vanderbilt bedford hospital, community development center, the bedford county health council and alzheimers of tennessee south central office to raise awareness of the wandering risks of these populations, and to ensure that individual preparedness plans are in place.