SNAP helps first responders better serve residents with special needs

Megan Thomas said she and others at Mountain Brook Police Department want to serve their community as well as they can — that’s why they’ve recently made their Special Needs Alert Program official.

“We’ve been doing this for a couple of years, but we wanted to make residents know it’s available,” said Thomas, community relations officer at MBPD.

SNAP is a way for the department to improve its interactions with those with special needs in the community, by allowing families to provide helpful information. 

“We want to better serve the Mountain Brook community, and the special needs population is such a vulnerable population,” Thomas said.

That could mean a child with autism or Down syndrome, an adult with mental illness or a senior citizen with decreased abilities — anything that could be helpful for MBPD to know. 

“We’re hoping to also help our older residents who have Alzheimer’s or dementia or something like that, to give us more info if we ever have to respond to their home or to something happening at a park,” Thomas said. “We want to become more acquainted with them and how to best serve them in an emergency.”

Families could provide details about a loved one’s medical conditions, or simply provide information such as if a person is scared of first responders or responds negatively to bright lights or the sound of sirens, Thomas said.

“It helps us know ways we can talk to these residents and help calm them down,” she said.

If you’re pausing to wonder if your child’s or parent’s situation fits with SNAP, “the answer is yes,” Thomas said. 

There’s no age limit or medical condition specified to participate in the program, so MBPD is hoping a wide variety of residents will choose to take part.

It’s information Thomas said she hopes MBPD will never need to use, but if they do, they’ll be ready to help in the best way possible.

“We’ll make a note in our file, and we will do the best we can for your loved one,” she said.

Police departments across the area and nation have put programs like SNAP in place and have seen great success with them, Thomas said.

She said Chief Jaye Loggins brought it to the department’s attention and wanted to implement it in Mountain Brook.

“He’s very passionate about it; he wants the entire community to know we’re doing our best to serve them,” Thomas said.

Loggins said the information gathered through the SNAP initiative will “allow officers to make a connection with a person that might be in a heightened state and can help calm the person down or deescalate a situation.”

“This will allow us to get the person the help they need quicker,” he said, noting that the information can also be shared with the fire department by a signed release.

To participate in SNAP, parents or caregivers are encouraged to fill out a form available on MBPD’s website. To download the SNAP form, visit mtnbrook.org/police/page/parent-resources. 

For more information, follow MBPD on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @mountainbrookpd or download the Mountain Brook PD app for more information.