Recently, Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral visited the monthly meeting of the Area B–3 Dorchester/Mattapan Neighborhood Council to speak with members about the Sheriff’s Department and it’s slate of community outreach programming.

Opening her remarks to the group with a brief description about some of the general functions of the Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Cabral expressed her strong commitment to providing the neighborhoods of Suffolk County with several preventative and community service programs designed to increase the level of health and safety for residents.

“We are truly a full–service Sheriff’s Department,” said Sheriff Cabral, referring to the Department’s Elderly ID program and the Choice program, among others. “Often, I like to go to senior centers around Suffolk County to speak with seniors about some of the things that they can do to make themselves safer.”

“And last year,” Sheriff Cabral continued, “our Choice program visited sixty–seven schools – some of them four or five times each – with lessons about making the kinds of choices in their lives that will lead to success as they reach adulthood. We’ve also added civics to the program so that children can learn about government and how it works because they’re not really teaching that in schools anymore.”

The Department’s Elderly ID program provides Suffolk County Seniors with a secondary form identification that serves as an important aid to medical responders, should an emergency arise and the holder is unable to communicate. The ID cards include a photo of the cardholder, his or her name, address, blood type, and medical history, and the name and phone number of the cardholder’s physician and an emergency contact.

The Choice program is designed to encourage children in grades five through nine to respect themselves and others by making the right choices now in preparation for having successful and productive lives later.

Before the meeting adjourned for the night, Sheriff Cabral fielded questions from audience members and discussed such urgent topics as the CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information), domestic violence, and ex–offender re–entry, as well as employment opportunities available within the Department.

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