LISBON

Lisbon police are breathing new life into an existing program starting Jan. 2 that allows the elderly in town to get a daily phone call from a volunteer.

“Winter is upon us, cold weather is here, it’s dark most of the time,” Lisbon Police Chief Marc Hagan told town councilors last week. “There are a lot of elders in our community who don’t have family or friends to reach out to them on a daily or weekly basis.”

The existing citizen outreach program has slowed and now has only two volunteers making calls once a week to about 10 residents.

Police are seeking volunteers to come into the police department to make calls to Lisbon-area elders. It could take 30 minutes or longer, depending on how many volunteers there are making the daily calls.

Hagan said if they get at least seven people to sign up, each would only have to come in to the station once a day to make calls.

He also asked people to think about friends and family members who would like to sign up to receive phone calls. It gives people a daily contact.

Volunteers will have brief conversations with participants, checking on their wellness before moving onto the next person on the list. If the individual doesn’t answer the phone the first time, the volunteer will call a second time a short time later. If there is still no answer, the volunteer reaches out to the participant’s listed contacts — whether it is a neighbor, friends of family member. If they don’t reach anyone, a police officer will check on the participant.

“Some people would be surprised at how many people don’t have any- body to reach out to them, and a week in between calls, right now can be a very long time for some,” Hagan said.

Hagan said it is a free program, and a simple program for both the volunteer and participant.

Volunteer applications and participant information sheets are available on Lisbon Police Department’s Facebook page and both the police department and town website.

People can also stop by the police station to pick up the forms, and for elders who can’t get there, Hagan said call the station and he’ll make sure they get one.

Lisbon Police Department can be reached at 353-2500.