Community Corner
Alameda Police Roll Up Their Sleeves To Help Elderly Residents
Someone called the police about an overgrown yard. On their own time, this is how APD captains and lieutenants responded.
ALAMEDA, CA — A heartwarming gesture by a handful of Alameda Police Department captains and lieutenants has captured the imagination of the community.
The Alameda Police Department responded to a call-for-service recently about a yard that was overgrown with vegetation.
"Officers learned the homeowner, an elderly resident, had been dedicating all of their time caring for their ailing spouse," the police department said in a Facebook post. "The physical and emotional demands of being a full-time caregiver had made it challenging for the homeowner to maintain their property."
The photos above show what happened next. APD captains and lieutenants, all members of the Alameda Police Managers Association, went to the home on their personal time off and, with the homeowner’s permission, trimmed, pruned and restored the yard.
"This small act of kindness reminds us of the importance of looking out for one another, especially during challenging times," the post concluded, along with the hashtag #BetterTogether.
The Facebook post was made Tuesday afternoon and had garnered more than 2,000 reactions by early Wednesday morning. Some 48 hours after the initial post, more than 400 people had commented, more than 700 had shared it and nearly 10,000 had added hearts, hugs and thumbs-up.
Among the responses was U.S. Coast Guard Base Alameda with the comment, "Please let us know if we can ever help support something like this."
The Alameda Police Department replied, "Thank you, U.S. Coast Guard Base Alameda ! We will be in touch."
Jamey Aspel added, "Please let us know if there are any other ways that we as fellow citizens and neighbors can help these folks."
Time and again, the police department was thanked for the compassionate response. The captains and lieutenants were labeled heroes, helpers, and angels, and many readers commented,"God Bless" to both the police department and the elderly neighbors who were helped.
Jerilyn Harless Denny gets the final word, "Thank you APD for stepping up, you may have just began a citizen’s movement, our families and children coming together for the common good!"
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