Stacy Coble, 63, and her dad Bill Huskey, 88, wear white sheriff's department uniforms and gold badges. They’re among 336 sheriff’s volunteers who check on elderly and disabled people living alone in San Diego County.
“We cover a 400 mile radius. We are out in the backcountry. We go as far as the Imperial County line up to the Cuyamaca Mountains, to Potrero and right along the border,” Coble said.
Coble and her dad work out of the Pine Valley sheriff's station. On a recent Tuesday, they visited 82-year-old George Floore.
Floore used to be a logger. He lives by himself in Jacumba Hot Springs in the East County in a dilapidated trailer with his dog, Olive.
Huskey has been checking on Floore for about five years.
“We can't always control the weather or the conditions that they live in. But if they say they're hungry, then we reach out to other communities like Meals on Wheels, PACE. We try to find every resource that there is that can help make their life a little better because again, they are alone,” Coble said.
Floore was signed up by a neighbor. Huskey said a lot of the people are signed up after a deputy has been called out on a welfare check. The person has to agree to be visited by the volunteers.
“I just love it when they come out here and check on me. I got diabetes and the last thing I want to do is go into a diabetic coma and lay there and die, you know, so I really like it when people come out and check on this old fart,” Floore said.
Seniors are expected to make up 40% of rural households by 2030, according to the Urban Institute. In San Diego County, nearly 101,000 seniors are spending their golden years alone and facing increased health risks in solitude.
“Some of them don't have any air conditioning. And it is 100 degrees out here right now. We're going through a real hot spell, but it's every summer. And so we check on them to make sure that they're getting some kind of relief from the weather. Making sure they have water, making sure they have food,” Coble said.
Heat poses greater risks to older adults, especially those with pre-existing conditions, social isolation, or limited access to air conditioning.
“How am I doing with the heat? Not very good. Not very good. I got an air conditioner, but I don’t like to run it. I don't have that much money. You know what I mean? Cost a fortune. I got a fan going in there,” Floore said.
Floore also has emphysema. Heat can be particularly challenging for individuals with emphysema, a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that heightens the risk of breathing difficulties.
Heat wave studies reveal that older adults living alone face the highest risk of heat-related death. A University of Waterloo study calls for policy reforms to enhance air conditioning access for seniors in the southern U.S., recommending both mandatory air conditioning in new homes and solutions to reduce operating costs.
“It's sad because when you talk to them, they all have families and a lot of them say, 'Well, they never come and visit us,'” Huskey said.
Floore said he has four children.
“I love every one of them dearly. Two of them I wouldn’t know if I saw them on the street. That’s how long I’ve been away from them," he said. His voice became softer as he went on, "I love my kids. Oh, well.”
Coble said she wished the program was more known in the community.
“I am sure there are a lot of people that could benefit and it's all over San Diego County.”
The program also needs more volunteers, she said.
“I don’t know what I’d do without people checking on me, you know? I don’t want to lay there to die in a stink or something and have somebody come in there and find me dead, you know?” Floore said.
