On Monday morning (October 7th), a Chinese resident of Brooklyn suddenly heard someone shouting “help” on the side of the road while taking a walk. She went forward to help and found an elderly white woman living alone lying on the ground unable to move.
Chairperson of the “New York Parent Association” Nicole Huang told the Epoch Times that she heard the call for help while walking her dog at the beach in the morning. To be honest, given the current security situation in New York, she hesitated a bit before deciding whether to help. However, after a moment of hesitation, she followed her inner goodness and went to see what was happening.
Following the sound, Nicole arrived at the front of a small yard where she saw an elderly woman in her seventies or eighties sitting on the ground wearing pajamas. Nicole asked how she could help. The elderly woman, in good spirits, told Nicole she needed help calling the police, and explicitly stated that she did not need any other assistance.
Feeling concerned, Nicole lingered around nearby until officers from the 62nd precinct of the police department arrived 5 minutes later before leaving.
“The old lady fell from the second floor and was severely injured, unable to stand up,” Nicole said, “she managed to crawl a little to the entrance of the yard to call for help.”
Nicole mentioned that because she wasn’t sure about the elderly woman’s condition, she didn’t touch her at all and only called for emergency personnel immediately.
Nicole’s organization, the “New York Parent Association,” provides services for immigrants. She wanted to take this opportunity to remind the community: any individual living alone could encounter such situations, especially the elderly. In such cases, it is crucial to call for help.
“Because there might not always be people passing by on some streets, so calling for help is essential,” she explained, “and whenever we hear someone in need, we should try to help; but as Chinese people, we should also not be too forward, mainly to avoid causing secondary harm. Always seek the other person’s opinion, especially when assisting people from other ethnic groups, find out what help they need, and calling the police is the best option.”
Nicole also suggested that if Chinese families have elderly parents living alone, it is best to install surveillance cameras at home and activate location tracking on their mobile phones to know their whereabouts every day.
“Given the current security situation in New York, elderly individuals living alone outside are not safe, not knowing if they can return home every day, so installing cameras is the best option,” she said.