Senior Volunteers Come to Rescue of 86-Year-Old Lakeside Woman

• [Photo: Senior volunteers David Lieras, left, and Ernie Bonanno, right]

LAKESIDE, CA: Two senior volunteers from the Lakeside Sheriff's Substation were recognized Tuesday by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department for coming to the rescue recently of an 86-year-old woman.

Volunteers Ernie Bonanno and David Lieras were conducting a weekly welfare check April 20 on the woman as part of the Sheriff's You Are Not Alone — YANA — program, which involves making regular phone calls and visits to senior citizens and disabled people who live alone.

The men became concerned when they didn't hear back from her, so they asked sheriff's Cpl. Jerold Ring and Deputy Thomas Bennett to respond to her home. After climbing through an open window of the woman's residence, Ring and Bennett found her on the floor and in need of medical attention, sheriff's Spokeswoman Melissa Aquino said in a news release.

"It was later determined she had been there for three days and doctors said she would not have made it another day," Aquino said.

With May being "Older Americans Month" in celebration of seniors and their contributions to local communities and the nation, Aquino said the department salutes Bonanno, a volunteer since 2014, and Lieras, a volunteer since 2015.

"Their actions saved the life of a YANA member who needed help," Aquino said, noting that the woman was treated for severe dehydration and now lives in a group home where she is receiving 24‐hour care.

To learn more about the Sheriff's You Are Not Alone program, which is free and offered countywide, click here.