Written by Dr. Tom and Rachel Griffiths www.aquaticsafetygroup.com Many parents probably believe with COVID 19 among us and many municipal swimming pools in the country either opening late or not at all this summer, there will be a decrease in drowning deaths this year.  However, Water Safety Professionals around the country have a much different opinion; they believe we will see an increase in drowning rates this summer due to COVID-19.  Why?  As evidenced already in some counties in Florida, because children are at home all day with schools closed and parents distracted while working from home, young children have more opportunities to slip into backyard swimming pools undetected.  With many public pools closed, when the weather gets hot, older youths may seek to swim in open-water ponds, streams, and lakes, without the watchful eyes of lifeguards on duty.  With fewer swim lessons offered, young non-swimmers may be unable to learn how to swim this summer to become safer around the water. When it comes to residential swimming pools, a four-sided isolation fence, whereby the backside of the house cannot serve as one side of the protective barrier, is the best way to keep toddlers and young children out of […]

Victim Advocates are trained to support victims of all crime, especially violent crime. They offer emotional support, victims’ rights information, help in finding local resources and a myriad of other responsibilities. Advocates need to have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with people of different types of education and background. Most of all they need to be sympathetic, understanding and patient. Crime Stoppers of Houston became the first of its kind to enact a victim services/advocacy program in June 2018. One of our main objectives is to ensure victims and survivors have a voice in our criminal justice system. The office routinely meets with victims and their families to discuss how Crime Stoppers can help bring attention to their case with the assistance of law enforcement through media intervention. We believe it is vital to empower crime victims in the hopes of rebuilding their lives. One of the unique services the office offers that no one else does is to regularly meet with the parole board along with victims and surviving family members of homicide to assist in requesting the offender remain in prison. In addition the office conducts numerous victim related events throughout the year, including […]

It goes without saying that this time of uncertainty is scary for all of us. There seems to be a never-ending flood of news about COVID-19, and recommendations for how we should live our lives seem to change daily. As everchanging news overtakes our devices, one piece of messaging remains consistent—The elderly is at an increased risk of vulnerability, and it is imperative for them to self-isolate. AARP has focused on the health and wellbeing of senior Americans and their families for over 60 years. Their top-priority remains the same during COVID-19. AAPR CEO, Jo Ann Jenkins says “In the face of a public health emergency like this, you can count on us to fight for you in the corridors of power and deliver information to keep you and your family safe and healthy” in her recent letter to the 50+ community. This is exactly what AARP is doing. They have created a plethora of resources dedicated to senior adults and their caregivers in the wake of Coronavirus. Here are just a couple things they have created specifically for our senior population and their caregivers during this time: Weekly COVID-19 Tele-Town Halls to keep you up to date on the […]

Keeping your financial accounts and information safe is critically important to us. That’s why we’re proactively advancing our security and continually investing in account safety measures, such as strong encryption software and ongoing monitoring of suspicious activity. We also want to help you avoid fraudulent schemes. Email and text message scams, known as phishing, can be difficult to distinguish from legitimate messages. They may impersonate a reputable company and include an urgent request for you to update your information, secure your account, verify your identity, or confirm a transaction. You may be prompted to call a phone number, sign on to a fraudulent website, or respond with personal or account information. Learn how to detect and report suspicious email and text messages, also known as ‘SMS phishing’ or ‘smishing’, that appear to be from your bank. What is phishing? Phishing is usually a two-part scam involving an email or text message containing links to a fraudulent website requesting sensitive information such as username, password, and account details. Once obtained, your personal and financial information can be used to access your account and steal money. How to recognize a phishing email Phishing emails are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to distinguish […]

The Transformational Story of Pepper It was a Tuesday morning in early October when an Animal Cruelty Officer responded to a call in Acres Homes in Northwest Houston. A caller reported that an animal had been sitting out in the yard for months, with serious matting, and obvious sign of neglect. As the officer approached the house, he saw a small brown dog and three large dogs. It was obvious the small dog was severely neglected and in distress. Her hair was overgrown and matted in giant clumps all over her body, soaked in her own feces and urine, weighing her down. This dog was black, but her fur was bleached to almost white, evidence that she was sitting in her own urine. When asked about this case, Officer Farmer said, “I have been doing animal crime investigations for 11 years, and this was in the top 10% worst matting cases I’ve seen.” Upon talking to the homeowner, the officer learned this dog was actually not the homeowners. A friend was moving to an apartment, and asked this friend to hold their dog while they moved. Unfortunately, they never returned for their dog and ignored calls and texts from the […]

75% of Texas 16-24-year-olds have either experienced dating violence or know another young person who has.

The holidays are quickly approaching and with the holidays comes shopping season. Although Black Friday is still the busiest shopping day of the year for retailers, the number of people physically shopping in stores has declined drastically over the past few years. With the rise of cyber shopping, people are more and more inclined to stay home and shop from the comfort of their couch rather than brave the large crowds over the holiday season. In 2018 alone, Black Friday yielded a record breaking $6.22 billion in online sales. While cyber shopping might be more convenient and seemingly less dangerous than in-person shopping there are still plenty of safety concerns to take into consideration while ordering your way through the holidays. Protect your finances. Shopping online can put you at risk for getting scammed or having your finances compromised. To ensure maximum security while online shopping make sure to follow these steps: • Research online retailers to ensure their legitimacy. If a deal seems just too good to be true, it very well may be. A good way to make sure a website is secure is to look for the padlock symbol in the address bar to the website. To […]