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Can anyone of you suggest some methods to keep my grandma safe at the house?

3K views 7 replies 8 participants last post by  aartech 
#1 ·
I am living with my grandma Elda. She is at her sweet 70's. Last Monday, When I reached home from my office I saw my grandma with a scary face. When I asked her, she told me that someone has knocked on the door really hard by 1 pm. This has broken the door locks. But he was not able to enter the house because he was not able to break the secondary lock. She didn't have her food and medicine on that day. I felt sad when I saw her face.
First I believed it was the kids in our locality. They use to play with my grandma. But when I checked the doors, I understood that something had happened. I lied to her that it was the neighbor kids in order to calm her down. On the next day, I replaced the door with a better door.
But after that incident, I feel scared to leave my grandma alone in the house. My friend told me to fix a CCTV camera. But I don't know whether this is effective. Can anyone of you suggest some methods to keep my grandma safe at the house? I was not able to concentrate on my works. Please give me the last replay.
 
#3 ·
There are different types of security devices - deterrents, protection, and defensive.

Deterrents are things like cameras, alarms, and other devices that are visible to scare away people as they thing they will get caught. They do not stop people from doing what they are going to do, but may help catch someone in the act. I have cameras around the front of my house more to see what is going on or what happened when I was away - but they don't stop anything from happening.

Protection are things like stronger doors, locks, bars on windows, etc. This is the type of thing that keeps people out. I personally have a steel bar that I put across my doors at night to keep people out - but nobody will ever be able to get in during an emergency.

Defensive security is a weapon or device to fend off someone that breaks in. I don't know if you want your Grandma having a gun or anything else, or if she is strong enough to use a baseball bat on someone, so I don't think it is an option for you. I wouldn't want my elderly parents having weapons lying around for grandkids to pick up either.

I would recommend the protection route - get some nice locks, maybe a few bars to put across the door when she is home alone, and maybe secure any windows that someone may jump in through. There are also many options for mobile devices she can carry to call 911 if someone is trespassing or at her door. Even if someone has a legitimate reason to knock on her door, the police don't mind checking them out as lots of times they are illegally selling something or up to no good.
 
#4 ·
CCTV or any cameras, etc.. while in some ways may act as a deterrent just from them seeing it.. not always though. its more of a reactionary thing. At least if something happens, the cameras may capture what the person looks like, to be able to be passed onto police.

Beyond good basic locks.. a secondary device is always a good option.
Problem with them is.. most of them are actually so poorly designed for what they need to do.
Most of any of your chair, bar, etc locks.. are that its usually not the lock/bar/chain itself that fails.. its that the way they are screwed in. They are screwed in the same direction of the FORCE if someone was trying to say kick the door down. they are kicking towards the door, the same direction the screws are facing. they are going to be the failing point and could often be just ripped out with enough force.

We own one of these, and thing its a much better option.
https://www.lowes.ca/door-lock-acce...qTSv3KXEVwrMeDR4HE8aAtnMEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
It actually screws in on the inside of the frame, the screws going horizontal to the direction of force, making it harder for the screws to rip out (If anything would more likely break the frame, if there is enough force).
 
#5 ·
First suggestion would be a monitored security system. Most people consider a security system for when you're away, however, these can also be set for "perimeter alarm" for when you're at home. If an outside door is opened, the alarm goes off. If you want, you can set a delay for the perimeter alarm so that if you open say the back door with the alarm set, you get a few seconds to deactivate the alarm so that it doesn't call in.

The perimeter alarm can also be set "automatically" whenever you set the alarm. For example, set the alarm, but don't open the front door and the alarm is automatically set for "perimeter". If you open the front door to exit the home, the alarm is set for "full house". This needs to be programmed properly by the alarm company and the equipment must have this option. Some equipment requires a different button be pressed for perimeter alarm. I recommend The Monitoring Centre if you're in an area serviced by them. The monthly monitoring rate is as low as $10/mo, depending.

In addition, I would suggest security cameras as others have mentioned.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Did she call 911??? IF so, how long did it take for them to respond??? And can you obtain stats for how long it takes (min, max) for her area???

VISIBLE Surveillance is a strong deterrence....even if it's a bunch of FAKE Cameras....but you can't rely on a Security Service to actually LOOK at the cameras in an entire city full of homes.

My 71-yo wife fell down a while ago, damaging her L knee and wrist....twice I've had to rescue her, unable to rise up from a squatting position: "I've fallen down, and I can't get up"....all it took was to get her to roll over on her side to get back on her knees from which she had no problem. So I THINK she has enough "Training" to at least crawl on the ground to the nearest Phone that is in every room (except Bathrooms) so she can call one of the kids to help....cuz I can't lift her. AUTO-DIAL Phones, of course, are essential to making this easy to use. [And I am nearly ALWAYS with her at home.]

Do you need to make it EASIER for her to call YOU and/or 911...and/or a Emerg. Response SERVICE??? Such as an APP on a SMART Phone that only takes one button to activate [and a confirmation button to avoid mistakes]....or a PANIC Button that she wears like a necklace or wristwatch??? Or a Wrist Cellphone that can make a Cellphone Call [although all of them require a "Host" SMART Cellphone for INIT/SETUP]. There are also other agencies and NGO's who provide assistance to the elderly....sometimes for free, such as fol. that she might not YET need:
https://www.payingforseniorcare.com/longtermcare/resources/nfcsp_respite_care.html

"Just" a Water Resistant Multi-Autodialer Phone Button:
https://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Med...atcorr&keywords=emergency+call+button++shower
https://www.amazon.com/Senior-Diale...atcorr&keywords=emergency+call+button++shower

Adds 2-way Talk Capability to Multi-Autodialer - Standard RJ Phoneline connects to Wallsocket...NOT a Cellphone:
https://www.amazon.com/Medical-Alert-System-Monthly-Charges/dp/B01162D6BU [Optional Cellphone Adapter]
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IMW8O4

Service Center will send someone to quickly Respond to Emerg. Button...and THEY can also determine if they need to call 911...and/or YOU:
https://www.theseniorlist.com/2015/01/2015-recommended-medical-alert-systems

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SIDEBAR: At our age, we typically experience hearing loss AND waveform distortions....which makes understanding HIGHLY COMPRESSED AUDIO via CELL Phones more difficult. Hence our Digital Cable Phone Modem connects to hardwired Phones in nearly every room in the house (except bathrooms)....each with AUTO-DIAL capability. I like AT&T's latest landline phone with BIG, VISIBLE Numbers:
https://www.amazon.com/AT-CL2940-Speakerphone-Extra-Large-Display/dp/B009R5VTX6

Per SCTE Cable Spec, all Digital Cable Phone Modems are required to support mostly uncompressed G.711 (64 kbps) CODEC...and are "encouraged" to support additional Compressed CODEC's to avoid severe "Transcoding" Loss from one CODEC to/fm another. My ARRIS TM502G Voice Modem supports G.711, G.726, G.728 & G.729E....but NOT any of the HIGHLY Compressed CODEC employed by Cell Phone Companies. Well, at least MY CODEC is very low loss up until it gets Transcoded to THEIR lousy CODEC.

The BIGGEST problem occurs when one Cellphone tries to talk to another network's Cellphone, so that a Highly Compressed CODEC must be Transcoded to/fm a DIFFERENT Highly Compressed CODEC. The last time I had a need to look at this issue, the fol. two figures summarized the human evaluation "MOS" Scores for JUST a CODEC and the FURTHER Degradation when Transcoded from one to the other. Fortunately, MY end would be G.711, so Transcoded MOS Score shouldn't be all that different from the MOS Score for the Highly Compressed CODED alone. Yeah....a lot of technical jargon....bottom line....Make sure her primary phone is HARDWIRED or Cable Modem Phone Service:
https://photos.imageevent.com/holl_ands/files/hidden//Voice CODEC MOS Scores.jpg
https://photos.imageevent.com/holl_ands/files/hidden//Voice CODEC Transcoding MOS Scores.jpg
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.494.5004&rep=rep1&type=pdf

BTW: Those results were for 2000 (back when I was still working). I have NOT taken the time to ascertain current situation...which is made all that more complex by UMTS and GSM adopting the SAME Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) standard....but it allows individual operators to CHOSE from a BUNCH of different CODECS, from a Ghastly 1.8 kbps!!!!! all the way up to a "not too bad" 12.2 kbps....so Transcoding may or may not be involved depending on whatever the Operator has chosen to do to conserve Bandwidth:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Multi-Rate_audio_codec
 
#7 ·
The incident should have been reported. Home invasions are a serious issue. People can be identified or deterred with security cameras but it won't stop them and they may know enough to evade or disable them.

A security system may help but it also may be too much for some people to manage easily. False alarms can be annoying and costly. Door or widow alarms and cameras trained on doors may help with illegal intrusions or other incidents.

The best option is probably to provide a "panic button" type of device to summon help. It will help for all types of emergencies. For other issues consider providing a cellphone, such as a flip phone, that is easy to operate.
 
#8 ·
I think one tough decision eventually, will be whether she should continue being alone at home or in a place with support like a nursing home or seniors residence. The waiting lists are long so it's something to consider before you are forced in to it.

At home, a security system is a good idea and perhaps you could add a panic button or two that could be activated. Just make sure she knows how to use it and is comfortable with it. Having something in place that isn't used, or that is sent in to false alarm constantly isn't going to help.

A monitored alarm is important, and it's even more important to test it regularly to ensure it is being monitored and quickly.

Cameras can act as a deterrent and also can help in case something does happen - but only if you are recording! So either use a cloud recording product or get a local recorder. Indoor cameras would help you keep tabs inside the house in case of a 'fallen' situation but you can't possibly cover all the areas including private areas like bedrooms.

There are several 'fallen and can't get up' type help call systems to consider, often called PERS systems. Some are professionally monitored and some are self monitored like these: https://www.aartech.ca/pers-personal-emergency-response

Lots of good tips from the group here, hopefully you can digest them all and find something that helps your grandma!
 
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