WACO, Texas — McLennan County Emergency Management strongly encourages residents to apply for the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR) program, which will assist their outreach in times of crisis and disaster.
STEAR is a free program that provides local emergency response planners and first responders with crucial information on the needs of individuals in the community, according to the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) website.
"The whole idea is to help local emergency management offices identify individuals who may have mobility or other health impactful issues," Emergency Management Coordinator Ryan Dirker said.
Dirker said through the registry docket it allows his department to know where residents are located to help better serve them and accommodate their functional and special needs.
Several years ago, Dirker said, by legislative mandate TDEM took the program "wider" requiring his department to go into communities throughout the county to see where residents registered with the program are located.
He added the system does not guarantee any additional services, but rather gives his office and first responders a better idea of where individuals with functional needs are.
"It's in line with one of the core functions of this office, that everyone has value and everyone is important," Dirker said.
Dirker said the program would allow them to provide the necessary resources to registered individuals for such instances like an evacuation.
"Our current plans in place already do those things, but what the STEAR program allows us to do is have a little more information about the particular condition of a person in the community," Dirker said. "For example, if someone would be in need of a wheelchair we would be able to bring the proper equipment to their home."
The registration-based system can be found on the TDEM website and Dirker said his office is currently in the process of adding it to theirs as well.
"But that's the kicker," Dirker said. "You must register for it."
Dirker said the more information they know ahead of time, the better "we do" at responding to situations for people who "non-traditonally speaking, bare a greater impact."
"During times of disaster STEAR aims to make an already difficult situation less difficult," Dirker said.
Though the system does not guarantee those specific services would be rendered for every individual, Dirker said his office would do everything in their power to accommodate as many residents as are in need.