Erie County Sheriff's Deputies who respond to crimes or accidents involving children will soon be equipped with books and other items, donated by an organization founded three years ago to help first responders provide comfort to young victims.
Books To The Rescue is donating $3,000 worth of books and supplies to the Erie County Sheriff's Office. The books, and in some cases stuffed toys, will be packed in duffel bags that will, in turn, be handed out by deputies to the children with which they interact.
"It gives them something tangible to connect with children. A lot of times they show up at a scene and they can't really reach out to them or connect with them," said Hilary Ruckdaschel, local organizer for Books To The Rescue. "A blanket and a stuffed animal is nice but sitting down and reading a book with them opens up the door for communication. It promotes literacy, which we all know is important. There's a lot of added benefits to having the books."
The kits will be assigned to deputies working in the Domestic Violence Unit and road patrols as well as detectives. Sheriff Timothy Howard was asked how far this program might go to help the deputies as well, when dealing with young people who are victims or witnesses to something traumatic.
"When they can do something beyond the work they normally do, they'll certainly find some additional comfort, maybe lowering their own stress levels," Howard said.
Pastor Steve Biegner of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Eggertsville, who is also executive director of the Western New York Impact Foundation, recalled a recent house fire in Clarence involving two children. While they got out safely, Biegner said they were then left with nothing to do but watch their home be destroyed by flames.
"If we have these books in more availability, in our Sheriff's cars and our fire chaplain's cars, they can be diffusing that situation and be able to have someone work with them in the midst of that trauma right away."
Books To The Rescue is funded entirely by donations, Sheriff Howard noted, and not by tax dollars.
