South Pier Co. · Grand Haven, Mich.
Printed PETG · Steel cable loop
NFC · No app · No account
Three fronts. All three carry the same emergency contact back the medical line uses. Olive drab and field tan, small piece of gear, serious job, mercifully little fuss.
The tag does not dial this for you. Free and confidential, 24 hours a day, every day. No VA enrollment needed. You can also text 838255 or chat online. U.S. options.
Three fronts. One back.
The back is identical on all three, and it is the working half. Same emergency contact tag that goes on the medical line, which means one tap puts a stranger, or a friend, on a message to whoever you picked.
- You choose what it says. The tag ships unlocked. You write it with a free NFC app, and you rewrite it whenever you want.
- Nothing is stored. No account, no database, no website behind it. The information lives on the tag itself and nowhere else.
- No subscription. Nothing to renew, nothing to cancel. It is a tag, not a service.
- It is not a tracker. No GPS, no battery, no alerts. It sits there doing nothing until somebody holds a phone to it.
$12 each. $10 each at twenty-four or more of the same design. Tax included.
Every tag includes the NFC chip and the steel cable loop. No account, no subscription, just the tag. Made to order, and I hand them over myself, so for now that means Ottawa County and the Muskegon area.
Somebody else holds their phone to it. Not you. What opens on their screen is a message, already addressed to the person you chose, with whatever you decided a helper needs to know sitting underneath it. They read it. They send it, or they do not. Nothing happens on its own.
This is a message to my emergency contact. You may send a text and/or see important info below. If this is an emergency, call 911 first, don’t wait.
Worth being plain about: tapping this tag does not call 988, does not reach the Veterans Crisis Line, does not send anything by itself and does not summon help. It opens an emergency contact message and waits for a person to decide. The crisis line is a separate thing, and it is further down this page.
The same short range chip your phone already has. No app, no pairing, no signal. Just hold it close.
Hold it close
Unlock the phone and hold it against the tap area on the back of the tag. On an iPhone that is the top edge of the phone, screen facing you. On Android it varies by handset, so try the middle of the back first, then the top.
Tap the notification
A notification comes up on the screen. Tap it. This step is the one people miss: the tag does not open anything by itself, and nothing happens until somebody taps that notification.
Read it, then decide
A message opens, already addressed, with your information underneath. Whoever is holding the phone reads it and chooses whether to send. Nothing is installed and nothing is downloaded.
To:616-555-1234
This is a message to my emergency contact. You may send a text and/or see important info below. If this is an emergency, call 911 first, don’t wait.
Send
Clipped on. Forgotten about.
It goes on the thing you already pick up without thinking. The bag by the door, the one on the bench, the one that rides to work and back.
Need someone to talk to?
You do not have to be in crisis to use it, and you do not have to buy anything from me to use it. It is free, it is confidential, and it is staffed around the clock.
then Press 1 This link dials 988. You still press 1 yourself when the call connects, to reach the Veterans Crisis Line. By text Text 838255 Opens a new message to the Veterans Crisis Line short code. Online Chat online Opens the official Veterans Crisis Line chat page at veteranscrisisline.net.
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You do not have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to connect. It is there for veterans no matter when, where or how you served and no matter your discharge status, and for service members, National Guard and Reserve, and for family and friends.
These are United States options. Dialling 988 and pressing 1 works inside the U.S.; from overseas the Veterans Crisis Line recommends chat, or the number for your region. It is a support resource and not a substitute for professional medical or mental health care.
South Pier Co. is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operating the Veterans Crisis Line or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The tag is a reminder and a way to reach your people. It is not a crisis service, and it does not claim to be one.
The practical part.
What actually happens when someone taps the tag?
A notification appears on their phone. When they tap that notification, a message opens that is already addressed to the contact you chose, with whatever information you decided to include underneath it. They read it and decide whether to send it. The tag itself does nothing else.
Does tapping it call 988?
No. Tapping the tag opens an emergency contact message and nothing more. It does not place a call, it does not reach the Veterans Crisis Line, it does not message anyone automatically and it does not send help.
The 988 on that front is a reminder you can read, not a button. To reach the Veterans Crisis Line you dial 988 and press 1 yourself, or text 838255, or chat online.
Do I have to have 988 on it?
No. That is why there are three fronts. The U.S. and the Star carry no number and no symbol beyond the mark itself, and they have exactly the same back and the same chip as the 988.
Plenty of people want the number where they can see it. Plenty of others would rather not carry a thing that invites a conversation they did not ask for. Both are reasonable, so you pick.
How is the back related to the medical tags?
It is the same back on all three fronts. South Pier tags fall into categories by who the tap message is addressed to, and this one uses the emergency contact category, which is what the Medical Alert, Allergy Alert and Memory Care tags use. Same wording on the tag, same standard message behind it.
What information can the tag hold?
Whatever you write to it. The standard message goes to your emergency contact, and below it you can put the things a helper would need: a condition, a medication, a second contact, anything you want said when you would rather not say it yourself.
It is a small amount of text on a chip. There is no hosted page behind it and no record of it anywhere but the tag in your hand.
Which phones can read it?
Recent iPhones read NFC tags from the lock screen with nothing to set up. Most Android phones do too, though NFC has to be switched on in settings and the reading spot moves around depending on the handset.
If nothing happens, move the phone slightly, or take a thick or metal case off and try again.
Can I change what it says later?
Yes. Every tag ships unlocked. You rewrite it any time with a free NFC app, as often as you like, without asking me and without an account.
What does it cost, and how do I order?
$12 each. $10 each at twenty-four or more of the same design. Tax included.
There is no storefront yet, so you send the form below, I confirm what is ready, and we meet up locally, cash or card at handoff. Every tag is made to order. I hand them over myself, which for now means Ottawa County and the Muskegon area. If you are further out, ask anyway and we will work out whether it can be done.
Small tag. Clear purpose.
Tell me which front you want. I will tell you where the design stands and when I could get one into your hands. No list, no drip, no follow up you did not ask for.