• By Todd Luck
• Posted Monday, January 9, 2023

FORSYTH CARES LETS RESIDENTS PROVIDE INFORMATION TO FIRST RESPONDERS

Forsyth County residents can provide information that will let first responders know the right steps to take if they’re responding to a call that involves them or someone they love using the new Forsyth CARES website.

Residents can access Forsyth CARES (Community Assistance Registry for Emergency Services) at forsyth.cc/ForsythCARES or through links on partner agency websites. All information is confidential and will only be used by emergency dispatchers and first responders.

Cognitive conditions, visual or hearing impairment, health conditions, medications, and emergency contacts are just some of the vital information that residents can enter that will help EMS, Law Enforcement, and Fire personnel respond to their situation.

The secure online service, developed and maintained by MapForsyth, is a partnership with Kernersville Police and Fire Departments, Winston-Salem Police and Fire Departments, and Forsyth County’s Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Services.

Kernersville Police Detective Dave Mundy came up with the initial concept for Forsyth CARES as a way to bridge the informational gap between residents and first responders. One of the things that inspired this was a call he went on about an elderly woman who wasn’t at home but her door was left open. Officers only had a 12-year-old photo to go on and no contacts to reach out to. Multiple officers where there for several hours before discovering she was a couple houses down the street with a neighbor. If officers had known who to call, they could’ve found the missing woman within minutes and not hours.

"Having limited information about an individual and access to contact information has always been a problem and I believe Forsyth CARES will start to close that gap,” said Mundy. “As first responders we welcome our citizens to complete the Forsyth CARES form for themselves, a friend or for a family member who may have special needs, be at risk of becoming missing or is in need of assistance during a time when they may not be able to help themselves."

Kernersville Police Department created a local Beta version of the concept, before it went to MapForsyth, which developed a site that would serve the whole county.