Merrillville Police Department receives donation of Ben’s Blue Bags
Multiple local organizations have teamed up to outfit the Merrillville police force with important tools that can help when responding to calls involving those on the autism spectrum.
Ben’s Blue Bags have been provided to each Merrillville officer thanks to a program started by Logan’s Love and a $7,000 donation from the local chapter of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA).
“This is a very generous donation,” Merrillville Police Chief Kosta Nuses said.
Nuses said there can be a variety of challenges when encountering a person on the autism spectrum while responding to an emergency.
“It is a horrible time in their lives and having aids like this makes it so much easier for us, and more importantly, it makes it easier for the people who are suffering,” he said.
Crown Point Firefighter Matt Kodicek developed the Ben’s Blue Bag program. It’s inspired by Kodicek’s son, Ben Kodicek, who is on the autism spectrum.
The initiative sets out to create sensory bags specifically for first responders to use during calls involving people on the autism spectrum.
The bags contain communication boards, sensory toys, dry erase markers, and noise canceling headphones.
They also feature inventory sheets so first responders know what to replenish the bags with after items are used during calls for service.
The Logan’s Love organization has been working to bring Ben’s Blue Bags to the Merrillville Police Department and other Lake County communities.
Nicole Reveliotis founded Logan’s Love to honor her son, Logan Ruiz. The 10-year-old boy, who was autistic, tragically died Aug. 27, 2022, in a train accident.
Reveliotis said the mission of Logan’s Love is to help the special needs community.
“We wanted to show our support to them,” she said. “We wanted to give them events, we wanted to work with first responders to give them these Ben’s Blue Bags.”
After Logan’s Love was established, an initial goal was to outfit the Tri-Town first responders with Ben’s Blue Bags.
The organization quickly achieved that goal, and the group is now focused on getting the bags to all police and firefighters in Lake County.
The local AHEPA chapter was approached to sponsor Ben’s Blue Bags for Merrillville police, and AHEPA graciously agreed to do so.
With the Ben’s Blue Bags now available to Merrillville police, the town’s officers will go through a training program run by Kodicek so they understand the best ways to work with those on the autism spectrum.