Special Needs Registry Will Enhance Response in Emergencies

When 69 percent of the community was left without power following a rare early snowstorm in October, emergency personnel scrambled to identify those with special needs, visiting several locations in an effort to find anyone who might have needed immediate assistance.

The response was completed with virtually no problems, police and fire officials said, but now the town is taking proactive steps to make sure a special needs database is in place to provide for immediate response to those with special needs during severe storms, evacuations and more.

The , and Commission on Disabilities unveiled the new database Wednesday afternoon with a special presentation at the — and already, local residents are taking advantage of the service.

“This is great. I think more towns need to implement something like this,” said Paul Jagos, who was there to assist local resident Joe Sollock in entering his information into the registry. “Joe is immobile and lives alone in a second-floor apartment in Plantsville, so if I can’t get to him, it’s nice to know he will be taken care of.”

The way the new program works is rather simple, said Southington Police Sgt. Lowell DePalma and Commission on Disability member George Pohorilak, but does require some help from the public. Residents with special needs sign up to be entered in the system and their needs are listed to help set priority responses in emergency situations.

Entry into the system is available for anyone with special needs, whether it’s an elderly member of the community, someone with physical disabilities or those with high-functioning mental disabilities who live at home, Pohorilak said.

The first phase is to enter residents, he said, and in the coming weeks, commissioners and emergency personnel will visit local senior housing facilities and places where disabled residents may be living, including Housing Authority properties, to get people to sign up. Three residents were on hand to enter their information into the system with Officer Michael Kahn as the program was unveiled Wednesday.

“We’ve been really tested in the past couple years. We’ve had two major storms, the gas leak in the West Center Street area and flooding which has led to evacuations,” Pohorilak said. “This will give us the ability to prioritize the needs of the residents and respond in an even more timely fashion.”

DePalma said once the program is in place, emergency personnel will be able to access the database in a public emergency and immediately respond to the needs of those who have registered in an organized manner. This will help save time and resources while enhancing the response.

The database will also provide other opportunities, including helping target a search area should someone with mental disabilities be reported missing, DePalma said.

The new program has already been used in some other municipalities in the state — including nearby in Berlin — but is not a common tool as of yet, said Stephen Pestillo, chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners.

Pestillo said this is one of several proactive efforts the town is making after analyzing the response during the October snowstorm. While the response was “well organized and timely,” he said, there are always for improvement.

The program will also provide use to the Community Emergency Response Team members as they look to assist more people, said Pohorilak, who assists with the CERT program in Southington.

“Our goal is to have a full system up and running by Feb. 1,” Pohorilak said.

To sign up for the program, view the PDF above or click on the link provided for a printable copy.