Non-Emergency Wellness Checks: Your Guide to Connecting with Connecticut Police Departments
- Jun 7, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 5
A wellness check is a request for responders to check on a person whose safety or well-being may be at risk. If someone is in immediate danger or needs urgent police, fire, or medical help, call 911.
Choose the Right Contact
Call 911 when immediate police, fire, or medical assistance is needed to protect life or property. Connecticut also identifies a missing child or older person who may be in danger as an emergency reason to call 911.
Call or text 988 for emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, or a mental health or substance-use crisis. Connecticut’s 988 service is available around the clock.
Dial 211 for Connecticut community resources and connections to crisis or mobile-crisis services when the situation is not a life-threatening emergency.
For a non-emergency concern, contact the local police department using the current non-emergency number on its official municipal or police website. This avoids relying on an old copied directory.
What to Tell the Call Taker
The person’s full name, exact address, apartment or unit number, and current or last-known location.
The specific reason for concern, when you last had contact, and what has changed from the person’s normal routine.
Relevant disability or medical information, such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, aphasia, memory impairment, sensory sensitivity, mobility needs, hearing loss, or a usual communication method.
Known immediate safety risks and whether children, caregivers, service animals, or pets may be present.
Your name, relationship to the person, callback number, and whether you can remain available for follow-up questions.
Request Disability Communication Support
The U.S. Department of Justice explains that state and local law-enforcement agencies must provide effective communication and make reasonable modifications when required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, subject to the law’s limits. Tell the call taker how the person normally communicates and which support may help.
Ask responders to have one person speak at a time and use short, clear sentences.
Request extra processing time and repetition or rephrasing instead of rapid questioning.
When safety allows, request reduced background noise, fewer simultaneous instructions, and attention to sensory overload.
Ask for writing, visual aids, an interpreter, an assistive listening method, or another effective communication aid when needed.
What to Avoid
Do not call 911 only to obtain a routine telephone number or general information.
Do not enter a location that may be unsafe or confront someone whose condition or behavior is unknown.
Do not exaggerate or guess. Share observed facts and clearly identify anything you do not know.
Do not assume that delayed speech, confusion, silence, unusual movement, or difficulty following commands means refusal. Brain injury, stroke, aphasia, hearing loss, or another disability may affect communication.
Official Resources
This page provides general public information. It does not replace emergency instructions, clinical advice, legal advice, or the current policies of the responding agency. Telephone numbers and local procedures can change, so use official government sources.
