Sending an alert with Buoy

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When you need help, you can use Buoy to send Alerts to the confirmed members of your Crisis Response Teams. This guide walks you through the process of sending an alert to a support Team. It assumes you have already assembled one or more Teams.

Overview

1. Preparation
2. Launch Buoy
3. Activate the alert
4. Next steps

Preparation

🚧 TK-TODO: Flesh this out a bit more?

Before you send any alerts to your support Teams, you should:

• Have a conversation with the people in your support network about what you might need when you call for help so that they know how to help support and calm you in an emergency.
• Bookmark the Activate Alert screen on your laptop or smartphone home screen so that you can access it in one tap, if you have one. (Read Using Buoy on a smartphone or tablet to learn more about installing Buoy on a mobile device.)
• Make a mental note of nearby locations offering you access to the Internet with a Web browser, so that you can use Buoy even if you do not have your personal smartphone or laptop with you.
• Spend some time practicing responding to simulated crisis scenarios with your support Team(s), so that you develop better reflexes and poise in the event of a real emergency.
• Practice using Buoy itself in non-emergency situations with your friends and fellow Teammates.

Launch Buoy

You can use Buoy from any Internet-connected device, even public terminals or other people's smartphones. If you carry your own device with you, you can of course simply tap the Buoy icon on your smartphone or tablet's Home screen to launch Buoy and immediately access the Activate Alert screen. However, you can also use Buoy from an Internet kiosk, public library computer, or any other device equipped with a standard Web browser and Internet connection. In those cases, "launching Buoy" means logging in to your Buoy account.

Activate the alert

Regardless of how you make Buoy accessible to you, once it is, you can send an alert to your Team(s). There are several different kinds of alerts you can send. These include:

• Immediate alerts, for when you have only enough time to press a single button,
• Contextual alerts, for when you can type a short description of the situation, and,
• Timed alerts, for when you want to schedule an alert to be sent sometime in the future as a "safety call" in case something you're planning to do goes badly.

Follow the links above for more information about each kind of alert. Once your alert is sent, your support Team(s) will have your physical location and can even coordinate amongst themselves, without further input from you.

Next steps

With your alert sent, you may want to follow up by:

• Turning your attention back to the situation at hand. You no longer need to interact with Buoy in any way.
• Recording a video of the incident, or livestreaming video of the incident.
• Chatting with your Team members as they begin to respond to your alert.

Read Using Buoy during an incident to learn more about Buoy's media sharing and coordination features.