Community members are benefitting from the added security of having personal alarms thanks to Sefton Park Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) winning a NHW SA 40^th anniversary grant.

The group demonstrated in its grant application that personal alarms would add to the peace of mind of vulnerable community members.

Personal alarms were given to individuals who expressed concern about their personal safety when visiting NHW stalls at Bunnings Prospect and a Gepps Cross Enfield NHW community event.

Sefton Park NHW Area Coordinator, Roger Porter, hoped the personal safety alarms provided members of the community with a greater sense of security when out and about.

“The personal alarms will hopefully give people a bit of confidence that if they do find themselves in danger, they can activate the device to alert people and hopefully deter someone who may be threatening them,” Roger said.

“The alarms have a lanyard so they can be worn, attached to a bag or placed in a pocket.”

When activated by the push of a button, the alarm will make a sound and send an alert message with the user’s GPS location to a contact.

The stalls promote NHW and have been beneficial in reminding people that NHW is still active throughout South Australia and, more importantly, their local community.

“It’s a unique opportunity for us to not only educate community members about preventable crimes in the personal safety space, but provide an actual device that will assist to do this,” Roger said.

“The stalls provide information about creating safer and more connected communities, with special emphasis on personal safety and how to protect property.

“We hope the grant helps to bring Neighbourhood Watch to the forefront in the community.”

The NHW 40^th anniversary grants were provided by South Australia Police (SAPOL) and the NHW Volunteers Association of South Australia Inc (VASA). It was initially agreed that SAPOL and VASA would each contribute $5,000 to the grants program. However, following an enthusiastic response and a total of 19 applications received, VASA generously increased the Board’s contribution to $10,000, bringing the total grant funds available to $15,000.