I thought I would know the answer to this, as I always wondered what would happen if my mom was confused about who or where she was.
The answer is simple: call the police. Either 911 or the non-emergency police number.
Today I met a man who was probably in his late 80s who couldn't remember the name of the street that he used to live on. Then he said he briefly lived in his car. And he wasn't sure of the streets in front of him either even though he had lived in the neighborhood for decades.
He was hard of hearing and clearly has either dementia or Alzheimer's issues.
Once he revealed that he had owned a building 2 blocks away, that had been sold, my gut said that he probably had suffered memory loss after leaving that building where he had lived for many years.
While my mom has both a bracelet and a dogtag with her emergency contact information, this fellow didn't really answer when I asked if he had family in the area.
I wondered if he did not what would happen to him if I called the police.
In the end, once he said he is a Buddhist and there is a group he goes to once ina while nearby, I decided to do nothing. I don't know if that was right, but my neighbor said she had seem him around.
His clothes looked clean and new. So I can only hope he knew where he was going and had someone to go back to, and that that place was "home" to him.
Please take the time to chat with elderly people who begin to chat with you on the street. Your time and attention can be the difference between life or death.
