When quarantine hit the city of Watkinsville, Georgia, City Police Chief Shannon Brock was quick to implement a program to keep residents safe and connected to one another during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city’s “Are You Okay?” (RUOK) program is for anyone who lives in Watkinsville and would like someone to check in on them from time to time during quarantine.

Who Can Sign Up?

If you wonder whether the program is for you, according to the Watkinsville Police Department, it is for anyone living in Watkinsville who feels like they would benefit from daily contact with the Police Department.

You can set up specific days and times for someone from the police department to call and check up on you during this unsteady time.

Chief Brock said the Watkinsville Police Department prides itself on its relationship with its community and wants to make sure it doesn’t lose this bond because of social distancing.

How To Sign Up

You don’t have to be sick to sign up for this program. Chief Brock said the program can help with people’s mental health and happiness, just by getting a call every day.

You can find the registration form and a waiver for the RUOK call program on the Watkinsville Police Department Facebook page, or drop the forms off at City Hall, mail them to 191 VFW Drive, Watkinsville, GA 30677, email them to sbrock@cityofwatkinsville.com or take a picture of the forms and send them via Facebook messenger to the Watkinsville PD Facebook page. All forms will be accepted, and Chief Brock said no one will be turned away.

Amanda Regan is a senior majoring in journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia.