Add a Panic Button to Your Phone

When you need it most, get emergency response in as little as 7 minutes with Home+ and AURA

Crime is a worry for every South African, especially at this time of the year when we are out and about, visiting unfamiliar areas and often returning home late. Police Minister Bheki Cele recently noted that during the festive season “criminals tend to be brazen as they try to undermine the rule of law.”

Minister Cele promised that “more boots will be on the ground” and that “escalated crime prevention and crime-combating operations will be a daily occurrence until the end of January 2023.” But there is an important step we can take to ensure our own safety, too.

“One of the advantages we have against criminals is our ability to leverage technology. Every South African with a cell phone has the ability to summon help at the touch of a button,” says Shannon Mackrill, COO of Home+, a revolutionary home-management app.

He explains that the ground-breaking AURA emergency services solution has been added to the list of Home+ services. This adds a panic button to any phone with the Home+ app, and gives customers the peace of mind that help is at hand almost anywhere, at any time of the day or night.

Safety at the tap of a button

The AURA security and medical response services platform connects users in distress to a network of responders across all nine provinces in South Africa. It aggregates over 2 500 private and public emergency response providers and dispatches the closest responder to any distress signal received, using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

When every second counts (as it always does in an emergency) ensuring that the closest responders are dispatched can make all the difference. We all know that the constant challenges our state emergency services face, means that response times can be very high. AURA’s average response time in South Africa for 2021 was just 7 minutes and 41 seconds.

“With the Home+ panic button, help really is just a tap away,” says Mackrill.

AURA is integrated into many of the apps we use every day, including Uber, Tracker, Namola, The Courier Guy, FNB (GuardMe 2.0) and now it’s available on the Home+ app too.

How does it work?

The network comprises thousands of security and medical response vehicles and more than 300 000 active users. If you find yourself in an emergency, simply push the button and the nearest vehicle from the network will be dispatched to assist you.

The Home+ Emergency plan can be extended to cover family members and loved ones too.

“We are committed to providing South Africans with services that make life simpler, easier and safer. That’s why we’re offering our members the first three months with AURA free,” says Mackrill.

In addition to the Home+ maintenance and security services, subscribers can buy prepaid electricity, water and mobile data using the app and access smart technology solutions to effectively reduce electricity costs. These include a smart geyser device that can bring down geyser electricity usage up to 30%.

ABOUT HOME+

Home+ makes managing a home easy and hassle free. It helps homeowners stay on top of chores and utility payments, schedule maintenance and plan renovations, find reliable tradespeople and keep their home safe. There is also a rewards programme, and emergency response services available.