As part of its emergency alert service, the Town of Hampton, New Brunswick, has launched a new registry called the Vulnerable Person Registry, intended to help those who may require special assistance in the event of an emergency, as reported by The CBC. For those with physical, mental or medical challenges, they or their caretakers can add their names to the database.
“When they’re thought to be at risk, we can share their particular information with the relevant organizations and agencies that are going to be helping us during this emergency so that those folks aren’t left behind, that they aren’t left out, that they’re part of our planning,” Keith Copeland, coordinator of the Hampton Emergency Measures Organization said about those citizens who have registered.
Copeland hopes those who may need assistance will register, noting one of the challenges for emergency preparedness is that the community currently doesn’t have clear numbers as to how many vulnerable individuals live in the town. For those who register, the EMO will contact them to discuss emergency planning, or to give advice in the event of an actual emergency.
The town is also making the tool available to other communities, according to The CBC. Says Copeland of the tools used to develop and manage the registry, “One of the things that we’re particularly proud of here is that … every municipality in the province now has access to that.”
