San Diego County Sheriff's Office November Newsletter: Tribal Flag to Be Permanently Installed Nov. 12, Three Programs Help Residents With Dementia Get Home
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office, in San Diego County, California, has released its November 2026 newsletter. In her opening message, Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez said November honors both military veterans and the region's first people, alongside a focus on election security, Alzheimer's Awareness Month and holiday-season safety.
November is National Native American Heritage Month. San Diego County is home to more federally recognized tribal nations than any other county in the United States, with 18 tribal reservations, and the Sheriff's Office maintains seven Tribal Liaisons dedicated to serving reservation communities. The 4th Annual County-Tribal Flag Raising Ceremony will take place on November 12, and this year's event marks a historic milestone: the permanent installation of the Tribal flag at the County Administration Center, on a dedicated pole displaying the unified flag featuring the seals of 17 federally recognized tribal governments, alongside an art wall honoring the Kumeyaay, Luiseño, Cahuilla and Cupeño peoples.
The newsletter also reviewed two 2026 milestones with tribal partners: the Emergency Tribal Access Pass program (ETAP), launched after more than a decade of effort, gives authorized tribal members and tribal governments a secure, coordinated way to navigate emergency road closures and access their sovereign lands during major incidents; and the Sheriff's Office signed the statewide MMIP Memorandum of Understanding, which enhances California's collaborative response to cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous persons by making reporting easier and improving response times.
November is also Alzheimer's Awareness Month. Nearly 100,000 people in San Diego County are living with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia. The Sheriff's Office Take Me Home program is a free, confidential registry: families can register a loved one online with a recent photo, emergency contacts and helpful details, and the information, accessible only to law enforcement across the county, lets deputies quickly identify a person who is lost and contact their family. Martinez joined Alzheimer's San Diego for the annual Walk4ALZ on October 17.
Two other free programs serve people with dementia and older adults living alone. The Blue Envelope Program lets people whose conditions can affect communication, including dementia, carry a blue envelope or wallet card, or wear a bracelet, button or sticker, signaling to deputies that the person may need extra patience and understanding; there is no cost and no registration, and materials are available at any Sheriff's station or substation. The You Are Not Alone (YANA) program offers free check-in phone calls every weekday morning and a weekly visit from the Volunteer Sheriff's Patrol; if a participant does not answer, volunteers go to the home, a deputy is called if needed, and participants can be connected with County Aging and Adult Protective Services. Families whose loved one goes missing should call 911 right away and not wait, and free, personalized support, including help enrolling in Take Me Home, is available through Alzheimer's San Diego at 858-492-4400.
On election security, the Sheriff's Office said it coordinates with election officials, public safety partners and relevant agencies on proactive safety planning, maintains readiness to respond to safety concerns, disturbances or emergencies, and works to ensure every eligible voter can participate freely, peacefully and without intimidation or fear, with emergencies reported to 911. For the holiday season, the Holiday Watch initiative, active through the end of 2026, brings Crime Prevention Specialists, community-oriented policing deputies and retail partners into shopping centers and business districts to share reminders on protecting purchases, preventing vehicle break-ins, reducing package theft and spotting common holiday scams; groups and businesses can request a presentation through the Sheriff's Crime Prevention team.
For Veterans Day, the newsletter noted that the Sheriff's Office employs hundreds of military service members and reservists, and that many of its volunteers, including the Volunteer Sheriff's Patrol, Search and Rescue and Reservists, are military veterans. Upcoming community events include Coffee and Cornbread with a Deputy on Nov. 12, 9 to 11 a.m., at Felix's BBQ, 763 Center Drive, Ste. 103, in San Marcos; the SDSU School of Public Affairs Career Fair the same day, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Aztec Student Union; and Coffee with the Community in Alpine on Nov. 18, 8 to 9:30 a.m., at Starbucks, 2963 Alpine Blvd, Suite 101. The Sheriff's Office non-emergency phone number is (858) 868-3200.
Source: San Diego County Sheriff's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：圣迭戈县行政中心。Adbar 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons，GSM 县级固定图库。 / Photo: The San Diego County Administration Center. By Adbar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. GSM county asset library.
