Latest news with #BlueEnvelopeProgram
Chicago Tribune
19-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Elgin News Digest: School District U-46 honors top graduates in class of 2025; Elgin police launch new initiative to help autistic drivers
The District U-46 School Board honored the academic accomplishments of the top 47 graduating seniors from the district's five high schools in a program held May 12 at South Elgin High School. Those recognized were: Bartlett High School: Kaitlyn Jenison, Krish Patel, Jingyuan Wen, Whalan Eid, Ryan Chien, Benjamin Emro, Audrey Martin, Zara Yasoob and Jack Conner. Elgin High School: Sebastian Siwiec, Jason Allen, Rishi Shah, Joshua Nato, Aaditya Sanghavi, Eric Nazario, Evangeline Comings, Brody Grosenbach, Liza Aygul and Jai Patel. Larkin High School: Lucy Akemann, Lara Amaro, Erany Fahmy, Addison Kuttnauer, Jenna Mack, Lydia Soto, Caitlin Sweeney and Samantha Winer. South Elgin High School: Carter Beucler, Anthony Cavallo, Anna Christopherson, Donald Doan, Ava Franch, Emmett Hanson, Mackenzie Klinger, Ethan Messer, Nishar Parekh, Ayush Patel, Dia Patel, Kamila Sangabriel and Kalia Verdino. Streamwood High School: Sophia Lortie, Danielle Althea Sotto, Sophie Saflarski, Salman Amir, Ream Basraoui, Leonor Nevarez and Claire Dresser. The Elgin Police Department, in partnership with The Autism Hero Project, is now participating in the nationwide Blue Envelope Program. The program 'is designed to support autistic drivers during traffic stops or other motor vehicle interactions, bridging communication gaps and ensuring safer, more respectful encounters with law enforcement,' according to a post on the police department's Facebook page. Blue Envelope kits are provided to drivers with autism and include the person's driver's license, vehicle registration, insurance card, communication method (verbal, nonverbal, etc.) and support contact information, the post said. Instructions are printed on the envelope for both the driver and the officer and can be presented at the time of a stop or police event, helping to reduce anxiety, prevent misunderstandings and to build trust. The kits are available at the front desk of the Elgin Police Department, 151 Douglas Ave. For more information, call 847-289-2700. Debra Miller will portray author Laura Ingalls Wilder in a show called 'All That I Have Told Is True' being presented at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at the St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. Sixth Ave. Miller is a professional actress with more than 30 years of experience performing for live audiences, on television and in film, library officials said. For more information or to register for the program, go to or call 630-584-0076. The Elgin and Carpentersville police departments are taking part in the nationwide 'Click It or Ticket' campaign enforcing seat belt usage through the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The campaign will be conducted in the evening hours because Illinois crash data shows higher rates of traffic accident fatalities occur at night involving people not wearing seatbelts, a news release said. 'Seat belt use should be an automatic habit for everyone,' Carpentersville Police Chief Todd Shaver said in the release. 'Buckling up is the simplest way to reduce injury or save a life in a crash.' The 'Click It or Ticket' campaign is funded with federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation. For more information, go to
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Fairborn and Miami County launch Blue Envelope program for drivers with disabilities
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Both the Fairborn Police Department and the Miami County Sheriff's Office are joining the Blue Envelope Program to help drivers with disabilities. The Blue Envelope Program is designed to support people with communication needs – primarily people on the Autism Spectrum – but Fairborn is also including drivers with anxiety or dementia. Kettering Police start Blue Envelope program for drivers with ASD Drivers can show officers the envelope at traffic stops to signal they need extra support. The envelope holds the driver's important documents and has printed communication tips on the outside for officers to read. The Fairborn envelopes can be picked up at the Fairborn Police Department, 70 W. Hebble Ave. The envelope also includes a form to request a communication disability alert on your license or plates. To learn more, click here. The Miami County Sheriff's Office partnered with the Miami County Board of Developmental Disabilities to offer its envelopes. They can be picked up at 201 W. Main St., Troy, during the weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 937-440-6085 for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Sacramento Police launch 2025 'Click it or Ticket' campaign
( — The Sacramento Police Department is launching its 'Click it or Ticket' campaign from May 12 to June 1, to remind drivers to buckle up themselves and their children when traveling. Video Above: Placer County launches Blue Envelope Program for neurodiverse communities SPD said there will be additional officers on patrol looking out for drivers and passengers who are not wearing their seat belts. They will also be searching for children not secured in the proper safety seats for their age. 'Wearing a seat belt should be automatic for all drivers and passengers every trip,' Sacramento Police Sergeant Anna Mahoney said. 'Seat belts save lives, and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to remember always to buckle up.' National statistics from 2022 showed that 11,302 people killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts, 842 of those being from California, according to SPD. SPD is reminding the community that California law requires children under 2 years old to ride in a rear-facing car seat, with the exception of a child weighing 40 pounds or more or is 40 or more inches tall. CHP unveils new fleet of bold colored vehicles Children between 2 years old and 8 years old are required to be in a secured car seat or booster seat and cannot ride in the front seat. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Crossville Police Department to participate in program for those with autism
CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Crossville Police Department posted Tuesday that it is participating in the 'Blue Envelope Program' which seeks to improve communication between law enforcement and those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This program involves giving blue envelopes to people with ASD. These envelopes will contain items like driver's licenses, insurance information and vehicle registration, as well as a place where people can write instructions on how officers can best communicate with the envelope's owner. During a crash or traffic stop, a person with ASD can simply hand the envelope to an officer. Advocates want increased funding for senior services in Knoxville budget The envelope also comes with a blue sticker people can put on their vehicle's window to inform officers that someone with ASD may be inside. Additionally, it has communication tips for both the officer and the person with ASD. This program is intended to reduce stress and anxiety. People interested in learning more can contact CPD or the KTG Foundation who can be reached at 865-316-6167. Athens couple out $9,000 after contractor never finishes job 'We're proud to work with our amazing community to spread awareness of this important and compassionate initiative,' CPD posted. 'We would like to thank Jennifer King from the KTG Foundation for training our officers on this valuable program.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.
CBS News
06-05-2025
- CBS News
How one Colorado police department is changing how officers respond to traffic stops
Earlier this year, the Boulder Police Department launched a new Blue Envelope Program aimed at improving interactions between police and community members. The envelopes have tips for successful interactions with law enforcement as well as space to write in any concerns or invisible disabilities officials should know about. Now, the department says hundreds if not thousands of envelopes have been given out and officers are starting to see them on calls. CBS Boulder resident Lucia De Giovanni was one of the first to pick up an envelope. "I was pretty much terrified of a traffic stop," De Giovanni said, "I don't drink, I don't do drugs, and I just have debilitating anxiety." Along with anxiety, De Giovanni also suffers from PTSD and other medical complications that can make what can already be a stressful interaction with police that much harder. "I've had therapists that didn't know what to do with me, let alone a police officer, you know, if I start shaking," De Giovanni said, "I knew how a very innocent situation could potentially turn very tense." So, she wrote everything she'd want an officer to know about her health and needs down on the envelope. A few months later, when someone vandalized her car, she handed her envelope to the responding officer. "I handed him this, and literally shaking because I didn't know if he was familiar with it, how he would react. And he took it, he opened it, read it," De Giovanni said, "And from almost like a, this authoritarian person, he became calm. He made me feel very comfortable." De Giovanni's call was the very first to use a blue envelope, but more have followed since. Officer Caitlin Spinney says she's responded to many of them and even gotten stopped on the street to answer questions about them. "We're trained to be prepared for every situation... in every direction that it could go..." Spinney said, "The blue envelope really helps us kind of look at a situation that may feel like it needs to escalate. ... We see that envelope and we realize like maybe that's not the case, and it allows us to really slow things down." Some of the accommodations that can come from the blue envelope can look like no lights and sirens, quickly seeing a need for a translator, or even just more patience. "A lot of the times we're going to calls based on just our dispatch notes, which are not always accurate. They're getting information from callers. Things get lost in translation, so to have concrete information available immediately to us, verified by that person, is huge," Spinney said. And while Boulder police are not the first department in the country to use this program, they were the first in Colorado. Since their launch, the department reports at least 10 departments across the state and the country have reached out to ask about starting their own. Boulder police created this envelope with the idea of drivers keeping it in their car, but the department says because they've seen so much interest, they're not looking into creating smaller versions for pedestrians and bikers to more easily carry with them. "I feel like I can never forget it. It's always with me," De Giovanni said, "If somebody like me can benefit, I know a lot of people who have depression, anxiety or certain limitations can certainly benefit from it."
