A little old lady lives across the street and was always very active, doing her own gardening, etc. The past couple of months she has called my brother (her neighbor) over about some concerns, but now she has started imagining that someone is putting things in her garage or has taken her electrical panel box, etc. She is now becoming paranoid.
It doesn't seem she has any relatives checking on her. What do you suggest he do for her well being? She is still driving and he has seen her driving around the neighborhood a few times, most likely looking for her house.
You can contact APS and ask for a check on her.
If she mentions that she thinks someone has broken into the garage that might be a way to contact the police and they can assess the situation and refer it to other agencies if they think it is necessary.
She was creeping along about 1 mile an hour! It made me very uncomfortable to see her.
This wasn’t a three wheel. It was a regular bike. I said a little prayer for her to be protected as I drove past her.
It is sad to see elderly neighbors taking risk by driving or riding a bike. I know that it’s fine if they are still capable but in situations where they aren’t, it’s frightening.
Your a very kind neighbor to & I respect you for trying to help her!
I would be careful about assumptions though, such as that driving around the neighborhood is "most likely looking for her house." She could just be reminiscing, or providing herself with some spring viewing. We used to drive around some neighborhoods, just to remind us of past times.
And we almost always drove by the beach where we spent a lot of time individually and as a family. There are a lot of good memories, as well as the soothing landscape around the lake.
One thing your brother could do is segue into a conversation about meals, focusing on whether she's getting enough to eat. If she expresses concern, he could explore making arrangements for Meals on Wheels.
Also, please be careful in stating that she has dementia; while there are some obvious signs, it's not appropriate to make that kind of conclusion, especially if you haven't seen her at all, or if your brother is not a medical person or isn't experienced with dementia.
Just don't get too involved! Unless you want to possibly find yourself the primary CG for her.
Reporting her to APS and giving them as much info as you can would be a jumping off point.