Program provides locks for seniors

December 22, 2010 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Beginning next month, hundreds of older city residents likely will feel safer in their homes, thanks to a program to buy door locks for them.

The Niles-based Area Agency on Aging 11 Inc. is using $10,000 in one-time federal money to buy 800 locks for people 60 and older to allow them to live safely in their homes as long as possible.

Lisa Solley, District 11’s chief of community relations, wellness and training, explained the program during a news conference Tuesday at the Help Hotline Community Center, 1344 Fifth Ave., on the city’s North Side.

She said her agency will buy the devices from Winner International of Sharon, Pa., at a discounted price in an effort to keep seniors safer and fight crime. The locks will be distributed for free, she noted.

“Earlier this year, we had a few of our seniors killed in Youngstown and our executive management team came together and decided we needed to do something to try and help,” said Joseph Rossi, District 11’s chief executive officer.

The items are easy to install and will provide security in addition to that offered by deadbolt and conventional locks, noted Garry F. Bonanno, Winner International’s executive director of law enforcement and government affairs. The devices can withstand more than two tons of direct pressure, he pointed out.

“They’re designed to protect people and eliminate the criminal element,” Bonanno explained. “You’re going to force that criminal to go somewhere else.”

Winner International, which manufactures The Club, a vehicle steering-wheel lock, is working with Youngstown and Warren officials to fight crime and protect older people from being victims, he continued.

The door-lock effort is a collaboration among Winner International, the city of Youngstown and city council, Help Hotline Crisis Center Inc., and the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority’s YouthBuild program.

YouthBuild members will install the locks, which also will benefit the young people by giving them marketable skills and a deeper appreciation for senior citizens, Mayor Jay Williams said.

To qualify for the locks, residents must live in Youngstown and be at least age 60. They also need to provide addresses, birth dates, gender and race, along with a phone number to set up a time for installation, Solley noted.

Locks will be available in January, but people can call Help Hotline at 211 to be placed on a list to receive them.