TERS – Telephone Emergency Response Unit

The Blue Card’s goal is to keep Holocaust survivors in their own homes and independent for as long as possible. Because of their Holocaust experience, most survivors suffer from sever anxiety when they are told they can no longer stay in their homes and need to move to a nursing home.

The Telephone Emergency Response System (TERS) is a life-preserving button that can be worn around the neck, wrist or as a landline unit. These emergency alert buttons can be used inside or outside the home so that Holocaust survivors feel safe and confident in their daily lives. With just a press of a button, the survivor is instantly connected to a care specialist who will contact help if needed, providing 24/7 medical assistance and peace of mind to both the survivor and the family.

Our TERS program provides the system to Holocaust survivors who do not have the financial resources to pay for installation, ongoing services and maintenance of the unit.

We have been successfully operating this unique program for 11 years. Over these years, we have worked with many different Emergency Alert providers that best fit our survivors needs.

***During the start of the COVID-19 crisis, we engaged the multiple emergency alert providers that we work with to check in on our Holocaust survivors using this system to see if they need any additional assistance. We found this way of communicating with our survivors to be the most efficient and timely way to do so, and as a result we have real time data on the supplies survivors need (some examples are sanitizer, soap, protective masks and gloves, paper towels and many more basic necessities).