Who? Needs to Register for Transportation Assistance

Could you or someone you know -- find a way out -- if an evacuation were ordered TODAY?  If you or someone you know could not drive or ride with a friend, relative, or neighbor, then you should call at this moment to pre-register yourself and/or your loved one. You can later decline a ride out with emergency officials– if you find a more comfortable option when your city or county calls to confirm evacuation arrangements with you just before an actual evacuation.

People with special needs of any kind and NO WAY OUT should pre-register during the month of June, at the start of hurricane season, instead of waiting until there is a storm in the Gulf, which puts a severe strain on emergency officials’ ability to meet everyone’s transportation needs.

Those who need to pre-register . . . are people with special needs and no family, friends, or neighbor who can give them a ride and help. Those with special needs include people – not only with medical needs, but those with mental needs, or financial needs as well.

Your call is free, and 2-1-1 is available 24/7, 365 days a year, in your language, to connect you to this service and thousands of other services to possibly help you find solutions to a Life Difficulty. Select option number four (4) to connect to the center handling pre-registrations for transportation assistance.

State provided evacuation was created in 2006 by the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) from lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005.Then when TDEM needed an access point for Texans to pre-register, they turned to 2-1-1 Texas, which was already in operation, as it is today ---  as a Help Line connecting people to Community Services. The Transportation Assistance Registry (TAR) was added to the thousands of Community Services reached through 2-1-1 for everyday Life Difficulties as well as Life Difficulties in times of disaster.

Most TAR registrants will meet a bus at an announced meeting point, also referred to as an “embarkation point,” and be evacuated by emergency officials to a shelter north of the area. Residents need to bear in mind that “this is last resort,” say local emergency management coordinators, who urge seeking a more comfortable alternative of evacuating with a family member, friend, or neighbor, who can sufficiently accommodate your special need.

Have you pre-registered before? This is a lifetime registry. Your registration remains active until removed. If you registered last year, you are still on the registry. You only need to call 2-1-1 again – if your phone number or address changes, so the emergency jurisdiction of your city – or county, can reach you when they call to finalize actual evacuation arrangements.

Remember to plan ahead for your pet as well. You’ll want to bring a crate and current vaccination records for this state provided evacuation.

Lastly, remember the old adage, “why put off until tomorrow -- what you can do today.” Your advance preparations assure you’ll be ready, and goes a long way in easing the nerves.