Hands-Free Help

“I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” Just about everyone is familiar with those words from the often-parodied Life Alert commercial. However, to those who do fall and need assistance, it’s no joke. Unfortunately, even if a person is subscribed to Life Alert or a service like it, there is no guarantee he or she will receive the needed help. This is because many people do not wear the pendant needed to signal for help. They often report that it gets in the way, or they are afraid of accidentally pressing it, and signaling a false alarm.

However, with the advent of modern technology, help is as close as your smart phone, Amazon Echo, or Google Home. If you enable the Hey Siri or always listening function on your smart phone, you can use the trigger word to ask it to call 911 or the emergency number in your country. However, having your phone listening all the time can rapidly drain your battery. If you have an Apple Watch, you can make an emergency call from that as well.

Google Home and Amazon Echo are not able to call 911 directly, but you can still use these devices to get help. Once you sign up with an Ask My Buddy account, you can link it with either device. You can then say, “Ask My Buddy to get help.” It will then send a prerecorded alert to the contacts you have designated.

You can also ask these devices to call a number in your contacts, and you can speak to a friend or family member directly.

For many of us, the idea of unexpected falls is far off. We don’t ever expect to need such help until a circumstance happens which makes it necessary. This is why having easy, hands-free ways to make an emergency call can be a valuable, potentially life-saving option for you or someone you care about.