Smart City: Vulnerable Persons Registry
The Vulnerable Persons Registry enables governments to securely maintain information about residents needing extra assistance during emergencies or service disruptions. It tracks profiles, locations, assistance needs, emergency contacts, and communication preferences. By keeping this information up to date, emergency teams can better identify support requirements and coordinate responses effectively.
Growth, the SimplyCast Way
Capabilities
Resident Registration
Allow residents, caregivers, or authorized staff to submit and maintain registry information.
Assistance Profiles
Record the types of assistance a resident may require, such as mobility, communication, transportation, medical equipment, or evacuation support.
Location Management
Maintain addresses and location information to help identify residents within affected areas.
Emergency Contacts
Capture designated contacts and relevant relationships for use when additional coordination is required.
Automated Communications
Send registration confirmations, renewal reminders, emergency notifications, and follow-up communications through multiple channels.
Responder Access
Give authorized personnel access to relevant registry information based on their role and operational needs.
Features
Online Registration
Residents or authorized representatives can submit registry information through a guided digital registration process.
Resident Profiles
Maintain a centralized profile containing relevant assistance, location, contact, and communication information.
Assistance Requirements
Record specific types of support that may be required during an emergency or disruption.
Location-Based Search
Identify registered residents within a specific address, area, zone, route, or affected region.
Emergency Contact Management
Maintain designated emergency contacts and associated contact information.
Communication Preferences
Record preferred communication channels and relevant accessibility requirements.
Automated Reminders
Automatically request information updates, registration renewals, or confirmation of existing information.
Information Validation
Identify incomplete, outdated, or potentially inconsistent registry information for review.
Role-Based Access
Control who can view or manage sensitive registry information according to operational responsibilities.
Activity & Record History
Maintain a history of relevant changes, communications, and registry activity.
Outcomes
Operational
- More current resident information
- Less manual registry administration
- Faster identification of potentially affected residents
- More targeted emergency communications
- Better visibility into assistance requirements
User
- Easier resident registration
- Clearer communication about emergency support
- Timely reminders and updates
- More accessible communications
- Better continuity of support
Organizational
- Stronger emergency preparedness
- Better coordination across departments and response teams
- More consistent resident-support processes
- Better use of available response resources
- Greater confidence in the information used for emergency planning
Measures
- Registry Registration Rate — Measures the percentage of eligible residents or households who complete the registry registration process.
- Information Currency Rate — Measures the percentage of active registry records that have been confirmed or updated within the defined period.
- Registration Completion Rate — Measures the percentage of initiated registrations that are completed with all required information.
- Emergency Notification Delivery Rate — Measures the percentage of targeted emergency notifications successfully delivered to registered residents or their designated contacts.
- Notification Acknowledgement Rate — Measures the percentage of targeted residents or contacts who acknowledge receipt of an emergency notification when acknowledgement is requested.
- Registry Response Time — Measures how quickly relevant registered residents can be identified and targeted following an incident, emergency declaration, or affected-area change.
Actions for Success
Operational Flow
Register → Verify → Maintain → Monitor → Notify → Support
Register
Allow residents, caregivers, or authorized representatives to provide information about the resident and their potential assistance requirements.
Verify
Review registration information, identify missing or incomplete details, and confirm that the record is ready for use.
Maintain
Keep resident information current through updates, confirmations, reminders, and renewal requests.
Monitor
Identify registered residents who may be affected by an emergency, evacuation, outage, severe weather event, or other critical situation.
Notify
Send relevant communications to affected residents, emergency contacts, or other authorized recipients.
Support
Provide authorized personnel with the relevant information needed to coordinate assistance, follow-up, and recovery.
Decisions
Has the resident completed the required registration information?
→ Yes: Continue to verification
→ No: Request missing information → Hold or redirect registration
Does the resident require additional assistance?
→ Yes: Record assistance requirements → Continue to registry
→ No: Complete standard registration
Is the resident's information current?
→ Yes: Maintain active registration
→ No: Request confirmation or updated information
Is the resident located within an affected area?
→ Yes: Flag for emergency workflow
→ No: Continue monitoring
Does the resident require targeted communication?
→ Yes: Select appropriate communication workflow
→ No: Continue monitoring
Has the resident acknowledged the notification?
→ Yes: Record acknowledgement
→ No: Escalate through another communication method or designated contact
Does the resident require assistance?
→ Yes: Route information to the appropriate authorized team
→ No: Record status and continue follow-up
Exceptions
Incomplete Registration
Automatically identify missing information and request completion.
Outdated Information
Flag records that have not been confirmed or updated within the required period.
Resident Information Changes
Allow residents or authorized representatives to update relevant information without creating a new record.
Unable to Reach Resident
Escalate communications through alternate channels or designated emergency contacts when appropriate.
Resident Moves
Update the resident's location and reassess relevant assistance or emergency planning information.
Emergency Area Changes
Reassess affected residents as evacuation zones, incident boundaries, or operational areas change.
Unable to Reach Resident
Escalate through alternate communication channels or designated contacts when appropriate.
Duplicate Registration
Identify potential duplicate records for review and consolidation.
Resident No Longer Requires Registration
Update or deactivate the registry record while maintaining appropriate record history.
Example Deployments
Municipal Vulnerable Resident Registry
Maintain information on residents who may require additional assistance during municipal emergencies and disruptions.
Regional Emergency Assistance Registry
Coordinate resident information across multiple municipalities, districts, or regional emergency management organizations.
Evacuation Assistance Registry
Identify residents who may require additional transportation, mobility, communication, or other support during evacuations.
Extreme Weather Preparedness
Maintain and support outreach and response planning for extreme heat, extreme cold, storms, flooding, and other weather-related events.
Power & Utility Disruption Support
Identify residents who may require additional support during extended power outages or other critical service disruptions.
Community Emergency Planning
Use aggregated registry information to identify assistance requirements when developing emergency plans, resources, and response strategies.
Resources
Vulnerable Persons Registry - Infographic
Smart City's Vulnerable Persons Registry - One Pager
Vulnerable Persons Registry Pricing Page - One Pager
Double-click on the video thumbnail to view in fullscreen.
Frequently Asked Questions
A vulnerable person's registry (VPR) is a database that stores key information about vulnerable individuals, enabling police officers and other emergency responders to access critical information during emergencies. Individuals, caregivers, or family members may voluntarily submit relevant information for storage in the database.
VPR helps first responders quickly identify vulnerable people, understand how best to respond to the individual, and contact their emergency contacts promptly.
SimplyCast’s Vulnerable Persons Registry is part of our Community Safety and Resilience core solution. It provides an easy-to-use platform for residents to securely submit and manage key information about vulnerable individuals in one centralized location.
The registry integrates this information with emergency notifications, incident management, GIS mapping, wellness checks, and community support workflows, providing responders and municipal teams with the information they need to make safer, more informed decisions during emergencies and community support situations.
VPR's typically ask for the following information:
- Emergency contact details
- Information about the individual's behaviours and typical routine that could affect the interaction
- A physical description and identifying features (Optionally, a photo could be included)
- Any special needs or known triggers that are important to know when responding to them
- Location information from home address, familiar places the person may go, etc.
- Communication information, medical information and other relevant information can also be included
- Faster emergency response: Quickly access critical resident information.
- Personalized assistance: Understand individual needs and communication requirements.
- Improved preparedness: Identify residents who may require additional support during emergencies.
- Better coordination: Connect resident information with emergency response workflows.
- Centralized information: Keep important vulnerable-person information organized in one secure location.
- Proactive planning: Help emergency teams prepare residents at increased risk.
SimplyCast’s Vulnerable Persons Registry supports emergency response by giving authorized municipal teams access to critical information about vulnerable residents when needed. This information can help responders identify individuals who may require additional assistance, understand their specific needs, and coordinate appropriate support during emergencies. The registry can also integrate with emergency notifications, incident management, GIS mapping, and wellness-check workflows to support a coordinated response.