911READY Inc. is the brainchild of Lisa Vilella, the founder and president of the Michigan 501c3 non-profit organization, Mimi's Mission. Mimi's Mission helps autistic individuals and their families within her community, an area of Metro-Detroit known as Downriver.
In 2015, Lisa transitioned from a successful career in insurance to pursue her passion of helping working residents within her community who had fallen on difficult times. Over the years, Lisa realized there was an entire population of autistic residents and their families who were without resources, support and connection to one another. Her focus within the non-profit eventually narrowed to specifically offering help to these special needs families through innovative programs designed to assist and support them as they help one another and help themselves. She became more involved with and educated in the needs of these families through Mimi's Mission's Autism Acceptance Group and soon realized that in addition to support, there were opportunities to educate others and forever change the way our society as a whole interacts with special needs families.
The 911READY alert system was in development for years as the scope and application evolved over time. Truly a community effort, it took a combination of the right talented and passionate professionals, emergency responders and special needs families to work together to build the system that would truly benefit the community as a whole and allow for real and impactful change. The 911READY emergency alert system looks to be the community link that, during an emergency, allows necessary and pertinent information to be given to emergency responders about individuals and families with special needs before the responders arrive at a 911READY residence or approach a vehicle registered to a 911READY member's license plate number.
In tandem with the alert system, in early 2021 Lisa launched Phase I of the program, 911READY Bags. She had learned that many first responders were not provided education on how to recognize and interact with autistic individuals and further, there were specific items first responders could use to calm the anxiety and stress of autistic individuals during an emergency. 911READY Bags were initially a program within Mimi's Mission, and the non-profit is still actively engaged with the program as departments and stations that use 911READY bags also receive training from Mimi's Mission on autism and how to use the bag contents in different simulated scenarios. The 911READY bag program has been successful from the start, with positive testimonials from first responders who have used them successfully in the field to deescalate emergency situations. To date, over 850 911READY bags are already in emergency response vehicles throughout the Downriver and surrounding areas, with many other departments, including the City of Detroit, currently in the training process.
THE COMMUNITY LINK BETWEEN RESIDENTS & FIRST RESPONDERS
Meet the talented professionals, first responders and special needs consultants who work to make emergency response more efficient for residents and responders.
First Responder Liaison & Program Coordinator
911READY System consultant, Responder
Detective Lieutenant Andrew Starzec graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He then attended Schoolcraft College where he earned a degree in Criminal Justice after attending the Schoolcraft Police Academy. In 2003 he was hired as a police officer in Brownstown Township, Michigan, where he has operated as a road officer, undercover Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Detective Sergeant and now serves as the Detective Lieutenant. As the Commander of the Support Services Division, he oversees the Detective Bureau, Traffic Division, School Resource Officer and community relations for the department. Some of his duties include organizing community meetings, updating social media and engaging residents, business owners and religious organizations in open dialogue and social events. Andrew sits on the executive board of Child’s Hope, which works to educate and prevent child abuse in Wayne County. He is also a member of the Woodhaven/Brownstown Rotary and Vice President of the Matthew Edwards Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. He also is trustee on the board of Directors of Mimi's Mission. Andrew provides first responder feedback on 911READY systems and programs. After playing an integral role in the development of the chain of process for the application, he continues to assist Lisa Viella in first responder training for autism awareness training and 911READY Bag training.
Technology Manager & App Administrator
app.911READY.info Developer, System Engineer, Web Developer
Trevor Kamin is Vice President of the Metro-Detroit company Ping Software USA. He is the father of two young men, a software engineer, and a recent amputee. When Trevor underwent his amputation in April of 2019, he searched for greater good. Instead of questioning, "Why me?", Trevor chose to search for the service he was meant to fill. He considers it a rare thing in life to stumble across something that resonates as 911READY did with him. As he listened to the thoughts of the initial system needs, he immediately assimilated himself into the use case. He knew this was the project that he was meant to help develop. As a software engineer, he had the resources at his disposal to help create this life changing technology. He's proud to be a part of this platform to deliver the coverage you need!
Special Needs Community Consultants
Program Feedback & Participation in Training Videos
The Autism Acceptance Group is a Mission Mission program that provides an opportunity for Downriver, Michigan, autistic individuals and their families to socialize and support each other. Members of the Autism Acceptance Group have continuously provided guidance and input on the 911READY and 911READY Bag Programs. They offer invaluable insight into the specific needs and concerns of the autistic community.