SACRAMENTO, Calif — As hundreds of thousands of Sacramento residents adhere to state and local orders to stay at home in an effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, officers and dispatchers are seeing a drop in 911 calls.
In the last few weeks, Sacramento has seen a 13% decrease in calls for service, something officials say is likely due to the fact that fewer people are on the roads.
One of those recent calls, as heartbreaking as it was initially, turned into a heartwarming story dispatch supervisor Kelly Joy won’t soon forget.
An elderly resident called 911 struggling to find food because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"He was, I mean, it is very stressful right now,” Joy said. “With everything that you are hearing about the pandemic and the need for groceries and supplies and certain shopping hours for those who are unable to go out during the normal hours because they may be more at risk."
Add to that to the fact that delivery services are slammed. Instacart just announced it plans to hire 300,000 new shoppers in the next three months. Even Amazon Pantry is temporarily suspending service to restock and handle demand.
So the 911 dispatcher got police involved, and they jumped into action. They got the funds to buy the man groceries, and Grocery Outlet even donated some food.
“It's just amazing all around how the police and the community partners can really come together to serve those in need,” Joy said.
Meanwhile, dispatchers are working to keep themselves safe from the coronavirus pandemic, being more cautious at work, even practicing social distancing inside the building.
Plus, they’re under the same staffing to help the community get through the pandemic.
“We have amazing dispatchers here, and they really do just have hearts of gold,” Joy said.
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Chris Thomas.
READ THE LATEST FROM ABC10:
FOR THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS,
DOWNLOAD THE ABC10 APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for ABC10's Daily Blend Newsletter