By Greg Halbleib
BLOOMINGTON – The American Red Cross has developed a new mobile app to connect military members and their families to communication and programs.
The Hero Care app provides access to emergency communication to and from the military member and emergency travel assistance as well as non-emergency programs such as support groups and family services.
Red Cross Director of Services to the Armed Forces for the Central and Southern Illinois Region Crystal Smith says the app can help military families with one tap, which is especially important when a member of the armed services needs to be contacted.
“That program allows families to send emergency messages to their service members overseas when they’re deployed,” Smith said. “This app will allow them to access that information more quickly and to contact the Red Cross more quickly.”
Smith says the services found in the app are already well-utilized.
“In Illinois alone, we had over 1,000 cases that were open last year, and 300 of those cases were in Central Illinois,” Smith said, “so we definitely have a need for the app to make those services more available to those families.”
The Hero Care app is available for free in all app stores or by texting GETHEROCARE to 90999.
Greg Halbleib can be reached at greg@wjbc.com.
