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Question: Is there a service that installs free smoke detectors for senior citizens? I would like to confirm that and, if it is true, find out how to sign up.
Answer: Yes, the American Red Cross partners with the Honolulu Fire Department and other organizations, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, to install a limited number of free smoke alarms in the homes of seniors, people who cannot afford to buy smoke alarms or people who are physically unable to install the devices themselves.
Call 739-8111 on Oahu to sign up. Assuming that you qualify, you will be put on a list and notified the next time the Red Cross or its partners are installing smoke alarms in your area, said Carole Ka‘apu, regional preparedness manager for the American Red Cross.
Red Cross personnel go out monthly, while Fire Department staff go out quarterly, she said. There is a broad installation scheduled for early March, so call soon if you wish to be included.
The program also offers adaptive smoke alarms for people with sight or hearing problems so severe that the usual alert would not rouse them in case of danger. If you need a specialized device, mention that when you make the initial call.
Ka‘apu emphasized that the Red Cross and its partners (including the Fire Department) never solicit door to door for participation in this program. “It’s important for people to know that they must initiate contact with us, either by calling the telephone number provided or by signing up with us or the Fire Department at a community event,” she said.
This process ensures that residents are assisted by genuine Red Cross or HFD installation personnel and receive free, trustworthy service. “There are some scammers out there,” she said. “We want to make sure that our keiki and kupuna are protected.”
Kokua Line addressed a question about a potential fire-safety scam on Dec. 14 (808ne.ws/2ktxfgJ).
Q: How much would it cost taxpayers to pay those caregivers $70 a day?
A: Companion bills pending in the state Legislature would appropriate $600,000 for fiscal year 2017-2018 and $6 million for fiscal year 2018-2019 from the state’s general revenue for a kupuna caregivers program. The money would be administered by the state Executive Office on Aging. The bills aim to boost home- and community-based long-term care options for Hawaii’s aging population. You can read Senate Bill 534 and House Bill 607 and related testimony at the state Legislature’s website, capitol.hawaii.gov. Neither measure has yet been approved. For more on this issue, see Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Pat Gee’s story, 808ne.ws/kupunaaid.
Labor law poster
The Hawaii Better Business Bureau reminds businesses that they don’t have to pay for mandatory workplace notices spelling out labor laws. The posters are available for free from the U.S. Department of Labor (808ne.ws/fedposter) or the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (808ne.ws/hilabor). The consumer advocacy group issued the reminder because an out-of-state firm tried to sell it a Hawaii labor law poster, warning of possible fines otherwise. The BBB didn’t fall for the scam, and wants to ensure that other businesses don’t, either.
Mahalo
Mahalo nui loa to the people sitting at the next table who paid for my lunch at Spicy Ahi & BBQ on Jan. 5. You were gone before I knew it was paid for. Although I don’t know any of you, I am overwhelmed by your kindness. I wish all of you every happiness! — A single elder
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
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