April is Autism Awareness Month, and the San Mateo Police Department is taking it as an opportunity to remind the community about its Project Guardian program, which gives police information and tools about vulnerable residents to help the department interact with understanding and care when officers respond to a crisis or other encounters.

Project Guardian is a free, confidential program that allows caregivers, family and other people involved in the lives of people with autism or any other physical, mental or developmental condition to enter their confidential information into a police database to give officers more information about a person who they may come into contact with out in the field.

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Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.