Why Everyone Should Have An Emergency Contact

We live in a world where virtually anything can happen, and it can happen unexpectedly. Accidents at work or school, fender benders, going into labor before the due date, inclement weather on a trip, fires… the list goes on. What do you do when the unexpected happens?

It’s important for all members of your family to have an emergency plan. In this emergency plan you should include details for specific emergency situations. And if you follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), you should have a family communication plan. This plan should detail what steps to take in different emergencies and how you will contact each other.

Creating a Communication Plan

Every family’s communication plan is going to be unique to them, but there are a few guidelines that should be followed in order for it to be effective when you need it.

1. Keep a list of emergency phone numbers
2. Make sure every family member knows who to contact
3. Have an emergency contact

Designating an Emergency Contact

When you choose an emergency contact, first and foremost, you want them to be reliable. In the event of an emergency they will need to react quickly to get you the help you need. It may be best for this emergency contact to be out of town so they can then contact everyone as needed.

The Role of an Emergency Contact

Your emergency contact will be responsible for alerting others of the emergency and calling for the appropriate help. They are a critical piece to your family’s emergency communication plan to keep everyone aware of the situation - pretty much your hero!

Communicate More Efficiently

Because time is of the essence in most emergency situations, you need to be able to contact your emergency contact as quickly as possible so they can react. A convenient addition to your communication plan for every member of the family is the Virtual Halo app. The app lets you send a quick SOS in the event of an emergency to alert your emergency contact. You can then use its check-in feature to keep them updated from there. This simplifies what you need to do in an emergency.

Don't Let Your Teen Leave For College Without Their Personal SOS

For teens, going off to college is an exciting, and liberating milestone.

But for parents, this event can be terrifying. Especially if they go to school out of state, as nearly 14% of students do.

As a parent, how can you feel confident that your teen will be safe even when you aren’t there? Start by talking to them about safety and precautions they should take, then take advantage of the one thing you know they’ll never go a second without - their cell phone.

Install Their Personal SOS

As your teen is busy preparing for their new classes stocking up on pens, papers and books, scratch one more thing off the to do list by downloading Virtual Halo to their cell phone. Virtual Halo is a personal safety app that will give you peace of mind by giving your teen access to quick and convenient SOS notification in the event of an emergency.

The app was designed with the college student in mind. When your teen uses the SOS, it not only sends a message to you and their chosen, trusted contacts, and can also be setup to text their campus security as well. This way, you can relax (as much as possible) knowing that nearby help is on the way. It’s free to use for basic services, with extended services costing only $1.99 per month; peace of mind as your teen strolls around campus.

Education is Important, but…

We know their safety comes first. That’s why we developed an app to give your teen the ability to immediately contact those closest to them for help when they need it. With the app, they can check in, mark when they’re going out and use the innovative Going Out Mode. When active, Going Out will automatically send an SOS if it's not disabled by the time they originally set. So you and your teen can always feel safe, anywhere, at any time.

Why You Should Always Let Someone Know Where You Are

Have you ever gotten lost?

It’s never a fun feeling. It happens to even the best outdoors people. And scientists now think that when we’re lost we do really walk in circles.

While it may not have been for a very long amount of time, most of us can remember getting temporarily turned around at some point. And if you do remember, you can likely recall the fear as well. But that fear shouldn’t deter anyone from enjoying adventure activities.

Venturing out hiking or camping, travelling across the country or foreign countries. It’s fun and a wonderful experience, but obviously it comes with risks. In such a mobile world, it’s critical to let people know where you are. Why? Because you never know what could happen. And it’s important to have a backup plan in case something happens.And it’s also something good so your loved ones don’t worry about you when you’re out enjoying the world.

Here are a few tips for letting people know where you are:

Tip #1. Expect the Unexpected

You never truly know what is going to happen when you’re on an adventure. You can plan and plan and most times things will be fine. But it only takes one time for things to go haywire. It’s critically important that you expect, or at least plan, for the unexpected. A great way to be prepared in the event of an emergency is to let someone know where you are.

Whether you are on a road trip across the country, hiking or camping in the woods, or simply running out to the store, let someone know your planned route. You might think that your plans will change. You can let the person know, but still give them a basic itinerary. The more information they have the more they can assist if you get lost.

Tip #2. Provide A Basic Time Frame

While you’re out, try to give someone a time frame to expect you back. It doesn’t have to be exact. Within a day or so. This way, if you haven’t contacted them or made it home when you said you would, they can be on the lookout for you. If your plans change just let your person know by checking-in. Just a quick message to let them know you’re doing fine. This way, if they can’t reach you, they’ll have an idea of what’s going on. Then, if something does happen, they know to react.

Tip #3. Stop & Assess

A very common scenario when you get that dreaded feeling of being lost is to move frantically. It’s natural to want to quickly get back on track. To feel at ease again. You want to avoid this tendency.

The best course of action is to STOP.

Stop. Think. Observe. Plan.

Give yourself time to take a breath and to figure out where you’ve been. How long you’ve been walking. Odds are pretty good that with a clear mind and a little rest that you can find your way back to your trail.

Tip #4. Take Advantage of Modern Technology

With everything going on in life, it can be difficult to remember to update someone at all times. Thankfully, our phones are a simple way to take care of that for us. With convenient, simple apps like Virtual Halo, you can send a quick check in to let them know you’re fine, or send an SOS if you aren’t.

With Virtual Halo, you have an app that puts your safety first and makes it easy to let someone know how you’re doing and if you need help. This quick alert is critical in an emergency situation to keep you and loved ones safe.

Exploring and adventuring are amazing aspects of life. It’s great to get away from the business of the city and all the modern technology. But you can unplug and still have the nice safety net that technology provides. You can still get away from it all, but it’s good to have a backup plan so that when something does happen you can quickly get back on track and work on your next adventure.

What To Do During An Earthquake

The major earthquake that happened in Italy last week should be a reminder to all of us that mother nature needs to stretch every now and then as well. For us, we were especially shaken up because two close family members were vacationing near the affected area in Italy when the earthquake happened. 

Focussed on an unplugged vacation, they felt the earth shake around 3:30 in the morning, but didn't understand the shear magnitude of damage and severity until late the following afternoon. They got up at the normal time and went out on an excursion in the ocean. Meanwhile, our family was trying to reach them all day. Not until they got back to their hotel and saw all fo the missed calls did they realize that something wasn't right. A couple quick texts and a Virtual Halo Check In put everyone stateside back at ease.

When you're traveling in an area that has a natural disaster, think about those close to you - chances are they're more worried than you are; make sure to give them peace of mind by knowing you're fine.

If you find yourself in an earthquake, follow the steps below - they could save your life (reprinted from the Earthquake Country Alliance). In most situations, following these precautions will greatly reduce potential for injury.

1. Drop - onto your hands and knees (before the earthquake knocks you down). This position protects you from falling, but still allows you to move to safety.
2. Cover - your head and neck (and your entire body if possible) under a sturdy table or desk. If there is no shelter nearby, only then should you get down near an interior wall (or next to low-lying furniture that won't fall on you), and cover your head and neck with your arms and hands.
3. HOLD ON - to your shelter (or to your head and neck) until the shaking stops. Be prepared to move with your shelter if the shaking shifts it around.

The area near the exterior walls of a building is the most dangerous place to be. Windows, facades and architectural details are often the first parts of the building to collapse. To stay away from this danger zone, stay inside if you are inside and outside if you are outside. 

Indoors: Drop, Cover, and Hold On Drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy desk or table, and hold on to it firmly. Be prepared to move with it until the shaking stops. If you are not near a desk or table, drop to the floor against the interior wall and protect your head and neck with your arms. Avoid exterior walls, windows, hanging objects, mirrors, tall furniture, large appliances, and kitchen cabinets with heavy objects or glass. Do not go outside! 

In bed: If you are in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. You are less likely to be injured staying where you are. Broken glass on the floor has caused injury to those who have rolled to the floor or tried to get to doorways. 

In a high-rise: Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Avoid windows and other hazards. Do not use elevators. Do not be surprised if sprinkler systems or fire alarms activate. 

Outdoors: Move to a clear area if you can safely do so; avoid power lines, trees, signs, buildings, vehicles, and other hazards. 

Driving: Pull over to the side of the road, stop, and set the parking brake. Avoid overpasses, bridges, power lines, signs and other hazards. Stay inside the vehicle until the shaking is over. If a power line falls on the car, stay inside until a trained person removes the wire. 

In a stadium or theater: Stay at your seat and protect your head and neck with your arms. Don't try to leave until the shaking is over. Then walk out slowly watching for anything that could fall in the aftershocks. 

Near the shore: Drop, Cover, and Hold On until the shaking stops. Estimate how long the shaking lasts. If severe shaking lasts 20 seconds or more, immediately evacuate to high ground as a tsunami might have been generated by the earthquake. Move inland 3 kilometers (2 miles) or to land that is at least 30 meters (100 feet) above sea level immediately. Don't wait for officials to issue a warning. Walk quickly, rather than drive, to avoid traffic, debris and other hazards. 

Below a dam: Dams can fail during a major earthquake. Catastrophic failure is unlikely, but if you live downstream from a dam, you should know flood-zone information and have prepared an evacuation plan. 

Additionally, we recommend that you and your entire family have Virtual Halo installed and active on your cell phone. By sending a Check In, you're able to let your family know where you are in case you get separated, and they'll know you're ok.

Safety Knows Fewer Boundries

Today, Virtual Halo is excited to announce that we've expanded our service into two additional countries - residents of the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic are now able to download the Virtual Halo app from their respective App Store's and utilize Virtual Halo's award winning services.

Residents of these island nations often feel isolated and haven't had a tool that could notify their trusted group of family and friends in the event of an emergency; now they do.

The outbound number that sends the text based notifications will remain the same at (309) 213-2823, which is the authenticated number that broadcasts all Virtual Halo based notifications.

Pricing for the app will remain the same - FREE for the download and to utilize the SOS feature; to unlock the enhanced features, including the Check In and Going Out modules, residents of the Bahamas and Dominican Republic will be charged the equivalent of $1.99 per month in their respective currencies.