The county wanderers database is up and running.

At the Lincoln County Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18, Director of Emergency Management Tod Hartung distributed sample fliers about the program and explained that the 1,000 that have been printed can be obtained at county police departments, town offices, the sheriff’s office and the hospital.

The purpose of the wanderers program is to provide a database within the county so that residents who may be likely to wander off can be identified for public safety by their loved ones.

The inside of the flier is an intake form that asks for the wanderer’s name and the contact person. It also asks for a recent photo and information about the wanderer’s height, weight, hair color and eye color.

The information that can be provided, along with the wanderer’s name and photo, includes contact information about case workers (if appropriate) and the ability to identify health issues like dementia or autism.

Those using the flier to register a loved one can indicate “known triggers” which are words or behaviors that should not be used when dealing with the wanderer because their use may make the situation worse. There is also an opportunity to identify “known calmers” so that those responding to a wanderer can attempt to calm the person.

Linda Lee, a Belfast resident whose son may wander off because of autism, developed the program in cooperation with her local police department. Waldo and Knox counties have wanderer data bases in place. Hartung reported that Waldo County has 23 residents on its wanderers list.

Information provided on the fliers will be kept at the county communications center so that it can be on hand and given quickly to law enforcement in response to a wandering incident.