from Michael R. Bloomberg
New York City's new Carrier Alert Program trains United States Postal Service letter carriers to identify signs of distress among seniors and people with disabilities and quickly connect them with social services through the City's Department for the Aging. The program, which triggers the use of 311 or 911 when signs of distress are
identified, provides seniors and people with disabilities with a special identification sticker or magnet to be placed inside their mailbox. Letter carriers will now be trained on the Carrier Alert protocol, using an instructional video created by the United States Postal Service.
Nobody knows our neighborhoods better than the letter carriers who visit the homes of seniors and people with disabilities every day. The Carrier Alert Program will allow us to stay connected with our elderly, homebound and disabled New Yorkers.
Letter carriers, who in many cases are the first people to recognize signs of distress, will now be empowered to act at the first signs of trouble. Through the use of 311, we can revive this common sense program and make it more accessible to New Yorkers.
Though the idea of a carrier alert program was conceived in New York City in the mid-1970s, the National Carrier Alert Program was created in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan. Long dormant in New York City, it began as a cooperative community service program to monitor the well-being of elderly and disabled mail patrons. As
one of the few—and some days only-points of human contact for home—bound patrons, letter carriers are particularly attuned to signs of a possible accident or illness. Participation in the program is voluntary and and seniors and people with disabilities are encouraged to sign up. Eligible Carrier Alert applicants must have an external
mailbox or an apartment building mail bank where a USPS letter carrier deposits mail. To participate in the program, seniors and people with disabilities should call 311 or download a registration kit available online at www.nyc.gov. Upon completion of
the application, participants will receive a sticker or a magnet for the interior of their mailbox. Participants must cover the sticker if they are to be away from the home for an extended period of time for a vacation or hospital stay.
Earlier this year, the United States Postal Service produced a training video for each of the City's post office branches to introduce letter carriers to the program.
The video, in conjunction with other training material, teaches the carriers the signs and symptoms of potential distress. For example, signs of distress in an apartment
building could include an overabundance of mail. Letter carriers who suspect a problem with the carrier alert participant will contact their supervisors who will contact the Department for the Aging (DFTA) via 311. DFTA will then telephone the emergency
contact person identified by the participant. Letter carriers are instructed to call 911 in the event of an emergency.
The Carrier Alert Program builds on the City's efforts to address the needs of socially isolated seniors and people with disabilities. The Carrier Alert Program and other
initiatives demonstrate the City's commitment to helping older New Yorkers live a healthy and engaged lifestyle.