Cape Police Department begins Take Me Home program for missing people

Cape Girardeau Police Department has implemented a program — "Take Me Home" — to assist officers in locating people who may need special assistance and to better understand their needs when located.

The program is intended to serve people with cognitive or developmental disabilities, including autism, Down syndrome, dementia and/or other medical conditions. Any Cape Girardeau citizen who needs special assistance qualifies to be put on the program's registry.

If an individual enrolled in the program goes missing and is unable to communicate their name or address effectively, officers can access Take Me Home in their police cruisers for a recent photo of the person to help find them or, alternatively, get the photo out to the public to help in the search. The information submitted by families or individuals includes a current photograph, emergency contacts, demographic information and addresses.

"Take Me Home is voluntary for citizens that participate, and all information is kept confidential," according to the Take Me Home website.

To register for the program, visit www.cityofcapegirardeau.org, under the "Departments" tab, select "Police," then "Citizen Services" and "Take Me Home." Complete the form, including any notable features of the person, what type of disability affects them and a preferred hospital.

In a Facebook post announcing the program, the department says if a person on the registry goes missing, 911 should be called immediately.

"If they are enrolled in Take Me Home, be sure to tell the dispatcher. It is helpful to know their medication needs, the most likely places they'll go, if they can't communicate, respond by a certain name, are afraid of noises, loud sounds or being touched," the website states.

The information provided in the call will help the chances officers can locate the person in a timely manner.

According to Autism Society's website, the program began when Pensacola, Florida, police officer Jimmy Donohoe attended a meeting of the Autism Society of the Panhandle and was asked by parents and guardians of children with autism how they could improve interactions between law enforcement and autistic children. Donohoe created Take Me Home, with assistance from the Autism Society and developed in cooperation with Consolidated Technology Solutions, so children could be safely returned home.

The program is free of charge to police departments. The individual departments are responsible for keeping the registry up to date. The information collected is placed in a database. Take Me Home is also brought to the community by the Autism Society's Safe and Sound Initiative.