Over the last few weeks 18 years olds from South Derbyshire have been starting University and College courses and their new, independent lives away from home. We are always delighted to see our children moving forward in life, but as well as being exciting this step can also be daunting, both for them and for their parents. Childrens’ safety is a constant worry to parents, particularly when they move to a different city, and I have recently been made aware of a mobile phone app which could help ease minds a little.
The creator of ‘Alert5’ developed the app after he heard about a horrific attack on a young woman who was tragically abducted, raped and murdered walking home from a club. He felt there should be a simple way someone in danger could alert people they needed help. The App, once activated, allows someone to alert up to five people they require assistance. It is free to download, costs just £5 for the year and uses the GPS in your phone to pin point your position and is accurate to within meters.
In this day of smart phones I believe this is a good way for young people to feel safer and it would take away some of the worry their parents have about them whether they are out locally or living away from home.
The possibilities this app has to potentially help and save lives is wide ranging. The app can be used to help those who have medical conditions or allergies. In the event of a medical attack it would allow them to alert their contacts of their location and potentially prevent that attack becoming a death. Furthermore, many of us have elderly parents who live alone, large numbers of whom are incredibly tech savvy and they could use the app to inform their children, neighbours or friends if they have a fall.
South Derbyshire is a relatively safe community and we rarely hear of vile attacks on innocent people, but it is still a concern we all have. However medical attacks and elderly people falling is unfortunately very common and even if this app is only used once to save one person it will all be worth it.
By supporting this app I am not suggesting we are in immediate danger or that young people off to University are at an overly high risk. I just believe we should all take every precaution we can to ensure our own safety.
Apps are now an integral part of life, especially for our young people, and £5 a year is a small price to pay for peace of mind.
The App is available from the Apple or Android App store. Please visit their website on: http://www.alert5.co.uk/
(This article was originally written for the Burton Mail. I am in no way linked to this company and do not financially benefit from promoting it, there may be well be alternative apps similar to the one mentioned above).