The Special Needs Association for Parents and Siblings, or snaps, has come up with a card that can help in an emergency.

The 1st RED, Response Emergency Details, Identification Cards are meant for seniors, children and those with special needs but eventually for the community at large.

SNAPS Executive Director Orvella Small says the idea came out of the 2013 flood.

"We started connecting with our families afterwards and people were telling us that some individuals wouldn't talk to the first responders because they didn't know them, so they wouldn't answer their questions and those kinds of things," she says. "We  did a little bit of research and we found out that we had this card. We had experience with the seniors who didn't have their medications list with them when they were evacuated from the community which caused an issue for them as well."

She says the idea of the card is that it's multi-purpose and can be used for just about any information from needing a pair of glasses when the holder of the card has lost or broken their in an accident to a list of medications.

Small, and program coordinator Jennifer Bartlett, both say it's a good idea to carry the card with the person's or their caregiver's government issued ID so it's readily available when needed.

She says the cards can contain whatever information an individual wants on it including their Alberta Health Care number and emergency contacts.

"It's totally up to the individual as to what information they put on there, we don't tell them they have to put anything on there," Small says. "They put on who their next of kin for contact is, they put on their Alberta Health Care number because that's an easy access to medications as well....if it's for an individual with special need they put that on the back so if there's a behavioural need it's on there right away, you know what to do if something's taking place."

She says they've gone to the Fire Department and will be letting the RCMP and EMS know about the cards and they've made presentations to seniors complexes, the Foothills School Division and almost all support agencies in the community.

To arrange for an appointment to have a card issued, including a photo, call 403-603-3232.