Orange Park police roll out new program to protect community members with special needs

Keeping children and adults with special needs in the Orange Park community safe, that is the goal of the Orange Park Police Department’s new Take Me Home program.

It’s the first of its kind in our area.

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“The program is basically for anyone who would be unable to communicate with law enforcement,” Officer Samantha Frehulfer said. "There are people who are going to be on the autism spectrum that may be fully functional and high-functioning and be able to communicate except when they're in times of crisis."

Frehulfer has seen firsthand the tense moments when a loved one is missing.

She helped bring the new program to Orange Park and is now inviting families to enroll their loved ones with special needs.

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Their physical characteristics and a photo are put into a police database, along with an emergency contact.

If a person in the database disappears, the police have a photo and other information they can immediately distribute in a "be on the lookout" alert to officers.

The database is also searchable -- officers can use it to identify someone with special needs if they wander away from friends or family.

“It’s instant information, and hopefully that’s going to be the most helpful thing because really, when someone’s missing, time is of the essence,” Frehulfer said.

She hopes the program will serve hundreds of families in Orange Park.

Right now, it's only available to people who live in town or frequent the area for school or work.

She says the program is free and available to any department that wants to participate.

Families are invited to call OPPD to schedule an appointment or have an officer come by their house.

The database could give families peace of mind and save officers man-hours.

“Hopefully that will cut down the time in finding (a) child dramatically -- That’s our hope,” Frehulfer said.

She said she’s already gotten positive feedback from families.​

To register for the Take Me Home program or for additional information, please contact either Officer Samantha Frehulfer at (904) 264-5555 or via email at sfrehulfer@townop.com or Stefani Kuhn at (904) 264-5555 or via email at skuhn@townop.com.

Cox Media Group