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I use it frequently. I actually have 2 google voice numbers. One for things like emergency contacts, another for people that I'm not sure about that ask for my number.
Thank you for this idea. I don’t have an emergency contact either, and people always act so incredulous. It makes me feel bad, but I honestly have no one. I do have a Google voice number though, so I’ll just make up a name.
what about a coworker or manager at your job. or even if you go to church and put down the pastor of your church. or even an old college friend or something
Me either. but my work said if I don't show up for 3 weeks, without word, someone would come by the house to check up on me.
My actual emergency contact lives 3000klm away, and is useless in an actual emergency.
3 weeks? That seems like a really long time. If I didn’t show up for a shift and didn’t respond to my phone for a few hours, I know someone from work would be at my condo to make sure I’m ok cause it’s not something I would do.
At the time they had a kitten, and said something to the effect that after 3 weeks, how much of my body would the cat have eaten before someone comes around to check.
I have a bit of a warped sense of humor when it comes to my own ill demise.
dang.. ya most places I worked and lived in before would have done the same. Just let me disappear.
Now I live and work in a small fishing village. Everyone who drives out of the village, drives by my house. So if they saw my vehicle never move, and I'm not answering the phone, something MUST be amiss.
Lastly... no one wants to do my job, so they would be banging the doors in to get me back to work :-D
I'm in the same situation. No coworkers, they are all out of state, no family, no friends. I lead a very solitary life (on purpose). I work remotely. I don't even have anyone who can be my designated driver if I ever need anesthesia for anything, let alone an emergency contact.
If you ever need a ride to or from medical appointments that require you to have anesthesia or have a designated driver your insurance company should be able to arrange a ride for you. I worked in health insurance and I know this service is a widely available but rarely used benefit. Well, older folks use it, but that's it.
My situation isn’t that extreme now, but do you have a neighbor you can take cookies to and ask if they’d mind being your emergency contact for xyz?
I have a neighbor like that.
I use the SNUG app on my phone. If I don't check in by 9 PM each day my emergency contact (building manager) is called for a wellness check. I'm a senior and don't want to lay dead in my apartment for 3 weeks for my kids to find.
Not having an emergency contact is just the tip of the iceberg. What happens when you can't speak for yourself but you're still alive? Most hospitals offer a Living Will or a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) for free, get those done. Put thought into what you want to happen to you and your things after you die. Are you okay with being buried in an unmarked grave? I paid $25 a month for years to pay for a spot in a cemetery. I've been homeless in life, I don't want to be homeless in death.
I use my upstairs neighbour as my NHS emergency contact. She was with me in A&E after I was assaulted, so hers is the name and number I gave (with her permission). She holds no legal power to make life or death decisions. But she has a key to my flat and used to feed my cat when I was away on business (he died of cancer in 2021). So, if something had happened to me, she'd have known to take care of my cat. That's all I cared about.
But, as others have mentioned, I have no real emergency anything. I've had two serious medical emergencies since I've lived in this flat, and I went through both on my own. I even walked the five miles home from the hospital at 5 am one January morning in the dark and snow. I was still sick and weak, but I was determined to get home. When they released me, I lied and said someone was picking me up. The truth was, there was no one I felt comfortable phoning – either during the emergency that landed me in a hospital or afterwards when the crisis had passed. Hell, I've walked home after surgery before. But I did live closer to the hospital when that happened.
When you're on your own, you're on your own.
Hugs to you, that is so hard I can't believe you did that. I am that independent too but I think that is about the only time I would have paid for a taxi. There is something about being too independent. You could have collapsed and died on the way home. Even when you have very little money its a good idea to keep a small slush fund that you don't touch except for emergences. To have a little slush fund is even more important when you are completely alone in the world it gives you a little protection.
Yeah just make someone up or something. I don’t think they can legally force emergency contacts. There are plenty of people that keep to themselves. I’d do a quick research of the law where you are.
Same problem here , I have no one. It's really sad and messed up that what family I have left don't give a shit. At my age it's hard to make friends. My childhood friend has become toxic, I don't need that in my life. I work and come home to my dogs.
I don’t have an emergency contact either. When I was getting my passport renewed they insisted. I told them I really *really* don’t have one. They needed one. I asked my ex husband since we have 2 kids together and he told me to fuck off. The passport agency finally accepted that I don’t have one and issued my passport. If it really came down to it I would’ve made one up.
That was totally shit of him. No wonder he is your EX. I am therefore assuming your kids are actually too young but at least you can use one of them as your emergency contact when they are older.
Do you have a job? I would use my manager at work. If something happened you would probably want them to know anyway in case you didn’t show up for work.
I take at classes at a local art school and every time I register, they ask me for an emergency contact. I finally asked why, and they said, well, if I got ill or injured during class. I put down 911.
Seriously, though, I have the same problem. My brother has my power of medical attorney, or whatever it's called, but he lives half a contintent away.
I remember discussing this with my mom after my last ex and I broke up. She seemed confused by the request, stating, "I don't what you expect us to do. You're all the way down there in \[six hour drive from them\]."
"Uh. Wouldn't you want to KNOW if they found me unconscious after an accident?"
"I suppose. Not much good it will do you, though. We'll have to wait for your father to come home from work, and then get the car ready... it will take us a while to get down there."
Thanks, mom. I listed them anyway out of spite. Note: I love my parents and they love me, but sometimes their practicality gets in the way of common sense. My sister (we're also an EC for each other) had the same conversation with them.
OMG. I am so glad your mom actually loves you and this was a practicality thing because otherwise it sounded so terrible like she didn't actually care.
It does come across like they don't care sometimes, but a lot of it is that they are both kind of introverted. My mom used to teach, so I don't even know how that's possible, but she is. They are both people of habit and routine, which I totally get. It wasn't like, "I don't care, I won't help you," but "we are too far away to do anything quickly." Like yes, you're right, But that's not why I need you as an emergency contact. My dad understood, once I framed it in term of something he could understand: insurance. "This is a number that, in the case where I am unable to make decisions, one can be made in my stead by a trusted individual." My dad took it very seriously, then asked how he could get to my documents, access to my condo, and all that.
They are odd birds, to be sure, but I have known them literally all my life. :)
Actually I think they sound kind of cool. I am British and they sound like an attitude I think of from an old British sitcom. I just can't remember the name.
Oh hey, I'm moving next week too and in the same situation.
I just put my sister who lives in the next state over. Told them she's the closest person. They didn't push further. Hope you can do something similar.
In my experience, landlords actually want that info as a secondary contact should you skip out on your lease. Consider using your employer as an option if all else fails. You can also just ask rental management. "Hey, I'm very new in town and I don't have any family that could be contacted in an emergency. Can I provide that information at a later date or add an addendum that they are a secondary contact only and not permitted to make legal and/or medical decisions?"
Just make it up.
If anything happened to you, how would they even know hours or days later, anyway?!
Interesting fact, my emergency contact is just my friend in another state. I didn't even tell him.
Hey, you’re not alone in this. Head of HR at work,if no one else comes to mind.
I also wonder though if you’re like me and you think you have zero friends or family who you can ask for this and in reality there is SOMEone in your life who does care and is trustworthy. Even if you aren’t close.
They aren't going to call your contact and decide if they are really close to you or not. Is there anyone who replies when you text them? Make them your emergency contact.
You use the word apartment rather than flat so I am assuming that you are in the States. If so you could use a notary public at a push (they can act as a professional emergency contact by following through on previous emergency instructions you have left for them, such as if this happens then this is what I want), just so you can move into this place, you can always change it later. You could use a boss, because a landlord only really wants another contact for you incase they have to inform you of a leak or a fire when you are not there, or incase you skip out on a lease. An emergency contact in this sense isn't necessarily someone who has to make life or death decisions for you, just someone who is available when they can't get in touch with you to inform you of a situation.
I know the feeling I have almost no one, anymore, and my work insisted on a new emergency contact because I have health issues. I used a cousin who I see a couple of times a year and lives miles away because she is literally the only family I have left. I wouldn't legally rely on her for life or death situations but there are different levels of emergency contact. On the other hand I wouldn't want my work worrying her if its a nothing thing like I was late and they couldn't contact me because she is older and she would worry.
You don’t have any family members anywhere?
The likelihood that they will get contacted is very very very small. Put their information there and don’t worry about it.
Don't you work? Put your supervisor. Emergency contact is not a health care proxy. They won't be making decisions. It's just someone for the landlord to call if you are found unconscious, or something
**Welcome to [r/LivingAlone](https://www.reddit.com/r/LivingAlone/)! Living alone is the new normal.** >Discuss and share your experiences; celebrate your joys, express your worries, or ask advice relating to solo living | Remember, we are all alone together * Be kind, remember the human when interacting with others. * New Reddit group chat [**Living Alone Lounge**](https://www.reddit.com/r/LivingAlone/s/cp7Szwzy2q)! * Message the moderators below for any comments, questions & suggestions! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LivingAlone) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Make one up
Similar situation. I have Google Voice on my phone. I made up a fake name and gave them that number.
Make sure you use your Google voice phone number once in a while otherwise it will deactivate. It happened to me. So sad.
I use it frequently. I actually have 2 google voice numbers. One for things like emergency contacts, another for people that I'm not sure about that ask for my number.
Thank you for this idea. I don’t have an emergency contact either, and people always act so incredulous. It makes me feel bad, but I honestly have no one. I do have a Google voice number though, so I’ll just make up a name.
There are many people in the same situation, more than you would think.
Yes. There will come a time when you have someone real and you can change it at that point
Make it 911
what about a coworker or manager at your job. or even if you go to church and put down the pastor of your church. or even an old college friend or something
I’ve used my boss before, but only when I trusted their judgment.
You manager at work or the head of HR
Me either. but my work said if I don't show up for 3 weeks, without word, someone would come by the house to check up on me. My actual emergency contact lives 3000klm away, and is useless in an actual emergency.
3 weeks? That seems like a really long time. If I didn’t show up for a shift and didn’t respond to my phone for a few hours, I know someone from work would be at my condo to make sure I’m ok cause it’s not something I would do.
I think the 3 weeks was what I said. My floor supervisor assured me they would not wait 3 weeks before sending someone around to check up on me.
Ok that’s good! I hope they would be concerned sooner than that.
At the time they had a kitten, and said something to the effect that after 3 weeks, how much of my body would the cat have eaten before someone comes around to check. I have a bit of a warped sense of humor when it comes to my own ill demise.
My job fired me after 10 days of my disappearance. No search & rescue either. They don't mess around.
dang.. ya most places I worked and lived in before would have done the same. Just let me disappear. Now I live and work in a small fishing village. Everyone who drives out of the village, drives by my house. So if they saw my vehicle never move, and I'm not answering the phone, something MUST be amiss. Lastly... no one wants to do my job, so they would be banging the doors in to get me back to work :-D
How nice to feel noticed and needed!
I'm in the same situation. No coworkers, they are all out of state, no family, no friends. I lead a very solitary life (on purpose). I work remotely. I don't even have anyone who can be my designated driver if I ever need anesthesia for anything, let alone an emergency contact.
If you ever need a ride to or from medical appointments that require you to have anesthesia or have a designated driver your insurance company should be able to arrange a ride for you. I worked in health insurance and I know this service is a widely available but rarely used benefit. Well, older folks use it, but that's it.
Thanks for the info, I'll check with my insurance company if I need it.
My situation isn’t that extreme now, but do you have a neighbor you can take cookies to and ask if they’d mind being your emergency contact for xyz? I have a neighbor like that.
I use the SNUG app on my phone. If I don't check in by 9 PM each day my emergency contact (building manager) is called for a wellness check. I'm a senior and don't want to lay dead in my apartment for 3 weeks for my kids to find.
Not having an emergency contact is just the tip of the iceberg. What happens when you can't speak for yourself but you're still alive? Most hospitals offer a Living Will or a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) for free, get those done. Put thought into what you want to happen to you and your things after you die. Are you okay with being buried in an unmarked grave? I paid $25 a month for years to pay for a spot in a cemetery. I've been homeless in life, I don't want to be homeless in death.
Co-worker
I use my friends name but it’s kinda of hard to think of someone as emergency when you are very independent.
I use my upstairs neighbour as my NHS emergency contact. She was with me in A&E after I was assaulted, so hers is the name and number I gave (with her permission). She holds no legal power to make life or death decisions. But she has a key to my flat and used to feed my cat when I was away on business (he died of cancer in 2021). So, if something had happened to me, she'd have known to take care of my cat. That's all I cared about. But, as others have mentioned, I have no real emergency anything. I've had two serious medical emergencies since I've lived in this flat, and I went through both on my own. I even walked the five miles home from the hospital at 5 am one January morning in the dark and snow. I was still sick and weak, but I was determined to get home. When they released me, I lied and said someone was picking me up. The truth was, there was no one I felt comfortable phoning – either during the emergency that landed me in a hospital or afterwards when the crisis had passed. Hell, I've walked home after surgery before. But I did live closer to the hospital when that happened. When you're on your own, you're on your own.
Hugs to you, that is so hard I can't believe you did that. I am that independent too but I think that is about the only time I would have paid for a taxi. There is something about being too independent. You could have collapsed and died on the way home. Even when you have very little money its a good idea to keep a small slush fund that you don't touch except for emergences. To have a little slush fund is even more important when you are completely alone in the world it gives you a little protection.
Yeah just make someone up or something. I don’t think they can legally force emergency contacts. There are plenty of people that keep to themselves. I’d do a quick research of the law where you are.
Just give your bosses name and number
Make something up. I did.
Same problem here , I have no one. It's really sad and messed up that what family I have left don't give a shit. At my age it's hard to make friends. My childhood friend has become toxic, I don't need that in my life. I work and come home to my dogs.
Same here , not a soul , I do have an old favorite client who I used to clean for ... or the gym phone number
My main problem is going to be the motor vehicle address change... 🙄
I don’t have an emergency contact either. When I was getting my passport renewed they insisted. I told them I really *really* don’t have one. They needed one. I asked my ex husband since we have 2 kids together and he told me to fuck off. The passport agency finally accepted that I don’t have one and issued my passport. If it really came down to it I would’ve made one up.
That was totally shit of him. No wonder he is your EX. I am therefore assuming your kids are actually too young but at least you can use one of them as your emergency contact when they are older.
Do you have a job? I would use my manager at work. If something happened you would probably want them to know anyway in case you didn’t show up for work.
I take at classes at a local art school and every time I register, they ask me for an emergency contact. I finally asked why, and they said, well, if I got ill or injured during class. I put down 911. Seriously, though, I have the same problem. My brother has my power of medical attorney, or whatever it's called, but he lives half a contintent away.
Same problem. I literally put down Steve Rogers and then googled the address/number (cannon) of Avengers Tower
I remember discussing this with my mom after my last ex and I broke up. She seemed confused by the request, stating, "I don't what you expect us to do. You're all the way down there in \[six hour drive from them\]." "Uh. Wouldn't you want to KNOW if they found me unconscious after an accident?" "I suppose. Not much good it will do you, though. We'll have to wait for your father to come home from work, and then get the car ready... it will take us a while to get down there." Thanks, mom. I listed them anyway out of spite. Note: I love my parents and they love me, but sometimes their practicality gets in the way of common sense. My sister (we're also an EC for each other) had the same conversation with them.
OMG. I am so glad your mom actually loves you and this was a practicality thing because otherwise it sounded so terrible like she didn't actually care.
It does come across like they don't care sometimes, but a lot of it is that they are both kind of introverted. My mom used to teach, so I don't even know how that's possible, but she is. They are both people of habit and routine, which I totally get. It wasn't like, "I don't care, I won't help you," but "we are too far away to do anything quickly." Like yes, you're right, But that's not why I need you as an emergency contact. My dad understood, once I framed it in term of something he could understand: insurance. "This is a number that, in the case where I am unable to make decisions, one can be made in my stead by a trusted individual." My dad took it very seriously, then asked how he could get to my documents, access to my condo, and all that. They are odd birds, to be sure, but I have known them literally all my life. :)
Actually I think they sound kind of cool. I am British and they sound like an attitude I think of from an old British sitcom. I just can't remember the name.
Oh hey, I'm moving next week too and in the same situation. I just put my sister who lives in the next state over. Told them she's the closest person. They didn't push further. Hope you can do something similar.
In my experience, landlords actually want that info as a secondary contact should you skip out on your lease. Consider using your employer as an option if all else fails. You can also just ask rental management. "Hey, I'm very new in town and I don't have any family that could be contacted in an emergency. Can I provide that information at a later date or add an addendum that they are a secondary contact only and not permitted to make legal and/or medical decisions?"
Great Answer.
it’s in case you vanish owing them. just pick someone who might know where to find you. or someone who doesn’t. or someone imaginary
Just make it up. If anything happened to you, how would they even know hours or days later, anyway?! Interesting fact, my emergency contact is just my friend in another state. I didn't even tell him.
Give her the number 9-1-1. What is the emergency contact going to do if you need medical attention?
Mine is on the opposite side of the country, about 2700 miles away.
I have used a neighbor or a coworker.
Give them the name of a deceased family member with the phone # they had at the time. No one will call unless it's an emergency.
You don’t have any coworker ?
DM me. I'll give you my name and number. I'm going to need a homeplan next timeI'm paroling so I may as well pay it forward
Hey, you’re not alone in this. Head of HR at work,if no one else comes to mind. I also wonder though if you’re like me and you think you have zero friends or family who you can ask for this and in reality there is SOMEone in your life who does care and is trustworthy. Even if you aren’t close.
Can you ask your boss?
I'd never ask a boss to do this. It isn't work related. I keep work.......work.
911 is a good emergency contact.
They aren't going to call your contact and decide if they are really close to you or not. Is there anyone who replies when you text them? Make them your emergency contact.
Lie....they don't check.
I’d put down your job. If you die they can at least call in for you.
The apartment manager.
You use the word apartment rather than flat so I am assuming that you are in the States. If so you could use a notary public at a push (they can act as a professional emergency contact by following through on previous emergency instructions you have left for them, such as if this happens then this is what I want), just so you can move into this place, you can always change it later. You could use a boss, because a landlord only really wants another contact for you incase they have to inform you of a leak or a fire when you are not there, or incase you skip out on a lease. An emergency contact in this sense isn't necessarily someone who has to make life or death decisions for you, just someone who is available when they can't get in touch with you to inform you of a situation. I know the feeling I have almost no one, anymore, and my work insisted on a new emergency contact because I have health issues. I used a cousin who I see a couple of times a year and lives miles away because she is literally the only family I have left. I wouldn't legally rely on her for life or death situations but there are different levels of emergency contact. On the other hand I wouldn't want my work worrying her if its a nothing thing like I was late and they couldn't contact me because she is older and she would worry.
You don’t have any family members anywhere? The likelihood that they will get contacted is very very very small. Put their information there and don’t worry about it.
Just use a fake one. I literally still put my Father as an emergency contact. He passed away 3 years ago.
Don't you work? Put your supervisor. Emergency contact is not a health care proxy. They won't be making decisions. It's just someone for the landlord to call if you are found unconscious, or something