| ICE - In Case of Emergency |
In Case of Emergency
In case of emergency where police, firemen or other emergency responders are required, please call
911
In California we have an emergency response system...when someone calls 911, their call is routed to the nearest public safety agency center. In many cases their phone number and location are displayed for the dispatcher. However, if they are calling from a cell phone, that may not necessarily be true. Therefore, if at all possible, please know where you are....address, intersection, etc. so that the emergency responders can locate you.
If emergency responders are not required, please do not call 911 as you could be fined as you are taking precious time away from someone that might really need their services.
In case of emergency within the homestay, if necessary, call 911, if not, then you can call me, Michelle Willemse-Grogan at the office number 310-438-7485 or my cell phone (this information will be provided to you in an email as I don't want to publish my cell phone on the internet, thank you). If there is no answer, please leave a message so I can call you back. Tell me a little about the problem and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If this is not an emergency, please leave a message on the office phone 310-438-7485 and I'll call you back during business hours. I am very good about returning calls, but you have to leave a message with your name and phone number.
In case of natural disaster, basically follow the same information as above. Of course, get with your host to make sure everyone is ok and safe. If you can not find your host, phone lines and internet are down, I recommend staying where you are (if it is safe) as I would think that your host might know where you are (it's always a good idea for you to let your host know where you are and where your are going, for this very reason). If you can't stay where you are, go to a safe place, maybe the nearest police or fire station or hospital.
Here in California, we have the American Red Cross disaster relief assistance. In the event of a natural disaster, earthquake, fire, tornado, etc, very shortly thereafter, the American Red Cross will set up shelters in various places.
American Red Cross disaster relief focuses on meeting people's immediate emergency disaster caused needs. When a disaster threatens or strikes, the Red Cross provides shelter, food, and health and mental health services to address basic human needs. In addition to these services, the core of the Red Cross disaster relief is the assistance given to individuals and families affected by disaster to enable them to resume their normal daily activities independently. The organization also provides translation and interpretation to those affected when necessary, and maintains a database of multilingual volunteers to enable this. They will also handle inquiries from concerned family members outside the disaster area.
One thing you might want to consider...in your cell phone, enter your hosts name as ICE ________ (enter hosts name after ICE), then of course include their phone number and address. That way, if you are in an accident and the police, fire or hospital personnel are trying to find out who to contact, they may look under ICE, which means In Case of Emergency. I have it in my phone with several contacts.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me. These are simply some ideas to assist you in the case of emergency. There may be other avenues you could choose....Facebook, Google search, etc. My hope in providing this information to you now is so that you may be prepared in advance for an emergency. Of course, we hope one doesn't ever happen, but if it does, it is best to be prepared in advance.
Michelle
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