Warnable is a neighborhood watchdog on your smartphone

Published on August 1, 2019

Public safety is an issue all over the news lately.

Events like shootings have devastated communities and they seem to be happening on a regular basis. The shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High are well-known. But after the Parkland, Florida shooting last year there has been almost one mass shooting for each day of the year. Different initiatives have been made and suggested over the years to help combat this issue and one of them may be closer to your fingertips than you realize. 

What is Warnable?

Warnable is a smartphone app that helps protect communities. Its mission can change the way companies manage safety protocols. Warnable says that today companies stuff all their safety files in binders on shelves. Then when those files are needed, people need to go out of their way to find them. Since people always have their phones on them, safety needs are always on hand. Warnable can be used for various situations like dangerous weather, missing children and fire drills. But it started out as a way to create safety drills in k-12 schools. 

Warnable Solutions was founded in 2015 by Adam Wolfson and Wesley Lau to leave an impact on the world. As a volunteer fire warden, Lau saw first-hand how safety protocols are forgotten when people get scared. The app is now used in 20 states across the U.S. and a number of different countries. 

How can you use it?

Warnable wants to help all kinds of communities. Wolfson says that the beauty of Warnable is that “it’s not one size fits all.” Because there are so many different ways events can unfold, there are several different ways Warnable can be effective. Users can “pre-plan” some decisions like who sees what kind of alerts and make sure people in certain groups stay connected. People can use the app for a bunch of situations like missing children and medical emergencies. They can even keep in touch with a team or neighbors. 

Wolfson also says that Warnable has been used at large events. A shooting killed a 6-year-old kid in California earlier this week. Security crews and staff at music festivals, for example, can use the app to help diffuse difficult situations before they become a problem for guests. These kinds of events are no strangers to violence. But a sister app is also a good choice for bigger venues.

Alert.Church is an app that is marketed toward places of worship but it works for events like music festivals where there can be thousands of people in one place. Alert.Church can send out a ton of messages at once with no need to hear back from anyone like you might have to with Warnable. 

How is Warnable moving forward?

Warnable’s inception began with securing the k-12 schools. Moving forward the company Warnable Solutions is looking to expand into other venues like music festivals and airports. It’s also looking to move into more states and countries. 

If you’re new to either app and would like to give either of them a try you can contact either company for a free trial. You can find the contact form for Alert.Church here and the one for Warnable here

Kori Williams is a Staff Writer at Grit Daily. Based in New York, she covers events, social-media news, apps, and New York brands. She loves grammar and aims to use her voice to help others.

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