Originally funded by the Amherst S.A.L.T. Council, the RUOK? system phones subscribers daily to ensure their health and safety.  If a subscriber of the RUOK? system does not answer the phone the Amherst Police Department immediately dispatches an officer to the subscriber's residence.  The system can be configured to call a subscriber one or more times per day and can work even if the subscriber uses an answering machine.

For more information or to signup for this free service contact the Senior Center by phone, 259-3060.

 

Do you or someone in your household have a disability? The Disability Indicator Form is a document that is filed with Rita Burke, 9-1-1 Municipal Coordinator at the Amherst Police Department. It alerts public safety officials that an individual residing at your address communicates over the phone by a TTY and/or has a disability that may hinder evacuation or transport. When your 9-1-1 call is answered at your local Public Safety Answering Point, the 9-1-1 system automatically displays your name, address and telephone number on the dispatcher’s screen. At your request, codes will be displayed on the dispatcher’s screen that will identify the disability indicators that have been reported for you or someone living with you at your address. These codes will help the dispatcher to communicate with the caller and provide useful information to your responding public safety agency. The information is confidential and will only appear at the dispatcher’s location when a 9-1-1 call originates from your address.

For more information or to signup for this free service contact the Amherst Public Safety Communications Center by phone, 259-3000.

 

If you have a permanent disability that in the majority of circumstances limits your ability to use the telephone effectively you may be eligible to receive assistive telephone equipment free of charge or at a reduced rate from Verizon. Under the program, equipment is available to individuals with cognitive, hearing, motion, speech or vision impairments. You must reside in Massachusetts and have the use of Verizon residential telephone service. To receive equipment under this program, your disability must be certified by either the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, or the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission.

For more information about this program contact Maura Plante at the Senior Center, 259-3060.