LONGMEADOW — The Yellow Dot program has officially made its way into Longmeadow, helping first responders and residents with rapid care in case of an emergency.
Longmeadow Yellow Dot representatives and residents Janice Greenberg and Elizabeth Frey, alongside Fire Chief John Rigney, explained the program and detailed its benefits at the Select Board meeting on Oct. 5.
Yellow Dot started in Connecticut in 2002, and Longmeadow began developing it in town around 2022 under the leadership of the Longmeadow Fire Department and EMS.
It allows first responders to easily access identifying information during emergency situations, such as who someone is and if any medical or behavioral information needs to be known – medications, doctors or emergency contacts.
Those who opt-in are given a yellow sticker to place on the rear, driver’s side windshield of a car or at the front entrance of a home. The sticker lets first responders know to look out for a yellow envelope with needed information, which should be kept in the car’s glovebox or on the fridge.
The program provides rapid and appropriate care, supports those with complex needs and provides peace of mind by ensuring first responders can quickly access essential medical information.
Printing costs and materials are covered by the town’s public health funds. Around 1,500 were printed and around 400-500 have been distributed to residents.
Residents can enroll in the program through events at the Storrs Library, Adult Center and Fire Department, as well as during Town Meetings, elections and various community events. Materials can be picked up at the library, Adult Center and Fire Department.
“The program is totally voluntary, anybody in the town of Longmeadow who wants to do it can do it,” Greenberg said. “They fill out the medical information form, and it’s not just medical actually. One of the things I really like about our form is it identifies other things like behavioral and special needs, autism spectrum, intellectual disability, PTSD. There are things that might not be so visible in the event of an emergency that this can help alert the first responders to.”
Greenberg said the program started out for vehicles only, but other states expanded the program into homes.
“We got so many inquiries from residents when we were onboarding,” Greenberg said. “They said ‘can I do this for my house too?’ It was popular, not just with some of our older citizens, but our parents of children with special needs. You may have an emergency situation in your home, and if you have a child that’s non-verbal or on the autism spectrum, a child with a panic disorder who may try to run, may not be able to communicate for themselves. This is just a heads up, like ‘hey people, there’s something special here that you need to pay attention to.’”
Greenberg said this program resonates with her because her son, who she said has an intellectual disability and a panic disorder, became scared and ran out of the car during a traffic stop in Vermont.
“The officer put his hand on his gun and said, ‘you need to tell him to get back in the car,’” Greenberg said. “When I learned about this Yellow Dot program that Milford, Massachusetts was onboarding, I learned from my Special Olympics friends there about this program. I went to, at the time, [former Fire Chief John Dearborn], I said ‘what do you think about this?’ He goes ‘I’ve never heard about it, but let’s do it.’”
She said she has also supported older neighbors during emergencies and wished she had more information while helping. She added Rigney continued supporting the program after Dearborn’s retirement.
“That’s why this means a lot to me and why I think it’s important to the community,” Greenberg said. “I’ve enlisted my friends to help and we have a team of about 10 people. It’s free, it’s voluntary, the information is not shared with anyone else … Yellow Dot speaks when you can’t.”
The program is only featured in five Massachusetts towns, including Longmeadow, Milford, Pepperell, North Andover, Ipswich and is regional across Norfolk County.
There is a House bill in the works by state Rep. Joseph D. McKenna to authorize the Registry of Motor Vehicle to establish a statewide emergency responder Yellow Dot program.
Frey said it is in the Ways and Means Committee and will “probably die this legislative session because it’s been pushed by a Republican congressman for years.”
Frey said, “we’re going to try to work with our local reps to develop something that they can then use for the next legislative session to try to push it through.”
Rigney said he knew the program needed to happen as soon as he heard about it.
“Oftentimes, we go to a house where they might be living alone or the child’s been left alone and we have no information,” Rigney said. “To be able to get this information in the hands of the first responders is huge … I do really feel that Janice’s story about her son could happen anywhere, you know, in this community. We’ve seen in our business in the last six months, two children with intellectual disabilities go missing, one in Monson and one in Westfield. Maybe through a program like this, we can at least get some of that information out to people to say, ‘this person needs help, this is the information we can pass along.’”
He said the program covers all ages and is a worthwhile program to support as a community to help residents and first responders.
Select Board Chair Dan Zwirko asked if there was a database with information. Rigney said there isn’t and all of the information lives in the yellow envelope.
Frey said she thinks the database would be counterproductive because of resident questions on where their data goes and stays.
Greenberg said from personal experience, there is “something to be said for having something you can smack into somebody’s hand or that they can grab off your refrigerator.”
“There are no passwords involved,” Greenberg said. “This thing goes with me to the hospital … Is it old school, yeah, but sometimes it’s good to have that thing that goes with the person to the emergency room.”
Rigney said if someone doesn’t want to participate anymore, they can put the form right in the shredder.
Greenberg said the program is always looking for opportunities to expand awareness in the community. She said there were limited funds for the initial printing and everything has been volunteer-run.
The program will have a table set-up at the Nov. 3 election. More information can be found at longmeadowma.gov/1607/Yellow-Dot.
