Kansas Vulnerable Needs Planning System

Learn more from this article by John Boyd from KWCH 12 Eyewitness News:

"The Kansas Division of Emergency Management is reminding Kansans who have special needs to register with the “Vulnerable Needs Planning System”.  You can do that by calling 211, or by visiting www.helpmekansas.org. 

It doesn’t cost anything to register.

The system helps assist emergency management professionals and volunteers when disaster strikes.  The Kansas Adjutant General’s office says the system helps provide improved coordination and emergency management planning in helping people with vulnerable needs, through registration doesn’t guarantee services and registration should not take the place of personal preparation.

The Kansas Vulnerable Needs Planning System is an Internet-based database. The Website,http://www.helpmekansas.org, has registries for individuals, volunteers and facilities.

The "Individual Registry" is developed for individuals with vulnerable needs to provide information to emergency response agencies. The sole use of this information will be to assist emergency management to plan before, during and after a disaster for possible needs of these individuals. Registration for this voluntary service is also available by calling 211.

The "Volunteer Registry" is an effort administered by Kansas Department of Health and Environment titled the Kansas System for the Early Registration of Volunteers (K-SERV). K-SERV is a state-wide, secure registration system and database for volunteers willing to respond to incidents. The aim is to have a list of pre-identified volunteers who are available for ready deployment in case of a disaster or incident.

The "Facility Registry" form is designed to register facilities serving people with vulnerable needs while at the same time collecting resources they may offer in an emergency. The information gathered will help local emergency response agencies plan for vulnerable needs residents in the event of disaster."