SOCIAL: text messaging during emergencies in SF

[Amy Tanner]

thought some of you might be interested in participating in this disaster 
relief pilot project in SF:

Dear Park Friends:

This year, while we celebrate the San Francisco spirit that helped the city 
rise from ashes, we also recall the key role parks played in providing a 
staging area and safe haven. Park advocates in our neighborhoods can play 
another vital role in an emergency, one that wouldn’t have been possible 100 
years ago: texting vital information to the city’s first responders using 
their cell phones.

NPC’s ParkScan program wants to help with a practical application of its 
technology in linking the public to the City’s emergency response agencies. 
Using text messaging, the only service available during the most recent 
disasters, we want to demonstrate the value of our network in sending 
emergency condition reports during this year’s earthquake anniversary 
events.

Would you be willing to participate with your mobile phone?

By sending us your text-enabled mobile phone number, you will give NPC 
permission to send a text message to your mobile. When the system is ready 
for implementation we will send a text message to confirm participation. 
Your number will not be sold to any third parties and will remain private 
and used only for this demonstration project.

Before the emergency demonstration you will receive an email message to go 
to the park and follow a number of scenarios that will require that you 
respond with text messaging to NPC. Our goal is to test this out at a number 
of the parks in the city in a coordinated effort.  Our demonstration site is 
planned for Mission Dolores Park, but subscribers could be anywhere sending 
their messages about emergency conditions. If it proves successful, we 
expect it can be added to the city’s emergency response program, and you 
will have a opportunity to opt into the program.

Please email Helen Johnson, if you are willing to participate. Kindly 
include your cell phone number and the name of your service, ie: Cingular, 
T-Mobile, Verizon in the subject line of your reply.

Thank you for helping NPC test our ParkScan Emergency Network.

Helen Johnson - hjohnson at sfneighborhoodparks.org