Gatekeeper Program

The Gatekeeper Program is designed to assist vulnerable older people who need help but may be unable to get it for themselves. Many older people live alone and have little contact with others. If they become ill or unable to function independently, they can easily go unnoticed and unattended.

"Your employees can help open the gates to community support for the elderly"

The Gatekeeper Program is a public/private partnership where customer-contact employees – like meter readers, utility workers, librarians and postal carriers – are trained by the Illinois Department on Aging and Area Agency on Aging staff to recognize signs indicating an older person may need help.

Upon noticing a person in distress, volunteers make a single phone call to the local Senior Information and Assistance office. The office then contacts the elderly person, assesses his/her needs, and gets whatever help is required from the appropriate health or social service organization. This may include medical care, food preparation or delivery, help with household chores, transportation, or other services.

The program’s rewards are far reaching.
The Gatekeeper Program benefits both older people and volunteers. It enables seniors to maintain their dignity and independence, while it builds employee job satisfaction, pride and community involvement.

Volunteer!

Almost any employee who may have contact with the elderly in the normal course of his/her job can be a Gatekeeper.

Supermarket clerks, bank tellers, pharmacists, utility meter readers, customer service representatives, waitresses/waiters, mail carriers, and paper deliverers are only a few examples of individuals who have contact with the elderly.

To date, employees of nine major utilities, the Illinois State Library, the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (consisting of over 50 northern Illinois hospitals) and many local businesses, have made approximately 5,800 referrals to the Aging Network.

Setting up a program in your office

It’s easy to implement at almost no cost.

You can put the Gatekeeper Program into action with very little input of time or money. It’s all accomplished by existing employees, in the normal course of doing their jobs.

Employees can be trained as Gatekeepers in less than an hour, and they don’t need to know a lot of details about senior programs and services. They need only know what danger signs to look for and what telephone number to call for assistance.

Youth Gatekeeper Program

The Department also coordinates a Youth Gatekeeper Program, which involves Illinois newspapers and their local paper carriers.

Contact

For more information on the Gatekeeper or Youth Gatekeeper Programs, contact the Illinois Department on Aging Senior HelpLine.

See also publications and Web sites related to this program:

• Publications
• Related Web Sites