Help keep Rancho Bernardo safe by joining RSVP
Rancho Bernardo’s Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol is looking for some service-oriented adults to join its unit and mission of helping out the San Diego Police Department in keeping their community safe.
The patrol, which recently celebrated its 26th anniversary, has 25 volunteers, half as many members as it had five years ago, said Administrator Dave Piccus. Participation has largely declined due to members’ advancing years and their subsequent retirement from the program. Citywide, the program has around 270 RSVP members.
Volunteers must be at least 50 years old, have a valid California driver’s license, pass a background check and complete a free training academy. Members do not carry a weapon. They are asked to commit to volunteering at least three days a month (a shift is typically 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays) plus attend a monthly Wednesday meeting in RB.
Rancho Bernardo’s unit was the first organized in the city in 1992 and, due to its members’ efforts and contributions, inspired similar programs to start in other law enforcement agencies locally and around the world, according to SDPD officials.
As of July 31, the RB RSVP members contributed 441,000 hours of volunteer service since their founding, Piccus said. That time has included a wide assortment of activities. Examples include conducting free house checks while residents are on vacation. Last year they made sure 235 homes were safe and secure while the residents were away and this year have so far checked 135 homes.
Piccus said each patrol car conducts daily bank checks twice a day on 15 banks within Rancho Bernardo. “We drive through the parking lots as a visible deterrent,” he said. When school is in session they visit Turtleback and Westwood elementary schools in the morning and afternoon.
Members also visit nine elderly Rancho Bernardans enrolled in the free You Are Not Alone program. Depending on the YANAs’ preference, the RSVP members visit them in person or check in with them on the phone up to five times per week. Many volunteers have said this is their favorite activity.
Christy Bonner, a RB RSVP member of nearly seven years, said the YANA program is the most rewarding aspect of being a volunteer. “When I first came in the office to join RSVP they were talking about their YANAs,” she said. “Being a widow myself, when I am older, I would want someone to check on me, having no family in the area. ... They keep track of you and give a feeling of security.
“The families appreciate it because you’re on the front line to see their health or behavior changing when you visit them,” she said. “We can call the family to say it might be time for (the YANA) to have more help or you should see for yourself how (your relative) is doing.”
Bonner said there are definitely more elderly shut-ins throughout Rancho Bernardo who could benefit from the free service considering the size of its retiree population. She said some of the resistance to signing up could be their fear of a lifestyle change. “All of a sudden, they think, they are not as independent as they used to be and that their family might think it is time to move them to a care facility,” she said. “It is a big step accepting help from outside the family and home.”
Kathy Sturdivant, a RB RSVP member for three years, said she likes best “the sense of doing something good for the community. We’re helping the police department with smaller, insignificant duties that they are too stretched (to do).” Those include delivering files and other items from the department’s Northeastern Division headquarters in Rancho Peñasquitos to downtown and assisting with traffic control during incidents.
Her favorite activity has been fingerprinting children at community events. The prints and digital photos are given to parents in case they ever need them and not kept by the RSVP or SDPD. “The children are cute,” she said of their interactions. Most of those fingerprinted are between the ages of 4 and 12.
Bonner, who has lived in Rancho Bernardo for 20 years, said her husband, John, died in 2010. After that she spent more time walking around her neighborhood and noticed the RSVP cars as members drove around. Subsequently, she found some lost keys and mail and turned them into the RSVP office in the Rancho Bernardo Library with the hope they could be returned.
The group also appealed to her because of its service provider aspect. Her father is a retired fireman in Seattle and husband a retired Navy master chief. “I’m used to being around uniformed people in some capacity ... my family seemed to be service oriented in one way or another, and this would keep me busy,” Bonner said.
Sturdivant, a Rancho Bernardo resident of 13 years who recently became the RB RSVP unit’s assistant administrator, said she became familiar with RSVP through her job at the Superior Court. “I would see these cars with uniformed people that said volunteer on the side of the car and thought when I retire I’d like to do that.”
She retired in 2014 and by early the next year started going on ride alongs to get a better idea of the duties involved. “I went on ride alongs with a couple great members, enjoyed that and went to the academy,” she said.
Among lessons Sturdivant said she has learned is “how good it feels to volunteer for your community.” She added, “There’s really nice people out there volunteering their time ... great people I’ve met through RSVP.”
Bonner, the RB unit’s office duty manager and field training officer, said she has learned that she can do many things and has gotten to know the Rancho Bernardo community a lot better. “I also learned we are a RSVP family that can rely on each other ... we get along.”
“Try it,” Sturdivant said as advice to those considering membership. “That is why we offer the ride alongs, you can think about it ... and decide if this is what you like to do. Most do enjoy it. It is not a significant contribution (of time) ... and we have a very fluid schedule if you go on a trip ... or have another volunteer job.”
Those interested in joining RB RSVP can visit its storefront on the Rancho Bernardo Library’s second floor, 17110 Bernardo Center Drive, between 7:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays or call 858-538-8146.
Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com