Veterans NFC Tags · 988 & Emergency Contact
South Pier Co. · Grand Haven, Mich.
Printed PETG · Steel cable loop
NFC · No app · No account
Three fronts. The 988 taps for resources: the Veterans Crisis Line and how to reach it. The U.S. and the Star 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. Two backs.
The back is the working half. On the 988 it reads Tap for info, and one tap brings up the Veterans Crisis Line and how to reach it. On the U.S. and the Star it is the same emergency contact back that goes on the medical line, so one tap puts a good samaritan, or a friend, on a message to whoever you picked.
Tax included. The 24+ price is for twenty-four or more of the same design.
Every tag includes the NFC chip and the steel cable loop. Ships anywhere in the US from $5, or pick up locally in Ottawa County and the Muskegon area.
- You choose what it says. The U.S. and Star tags ship unlocked. You write them with a free NFC app, and you rewrite them whenever you want. The 988 comes already written, and nothing personal goes on it.
- 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.
The 988 back · Tap for info
Carry it yourself, or hang it where a buddy would find it. Whoever holds a phone to it and taps the notification gets the Veterans Crisis Line and how to reach it. Nothing personal goes on this one. It comes already written, and it is the same on every 988 tag.
The U.S. and Star back · Emergency contact
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.
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. Dialing 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.
Does tapping it call 988?
No. Tapping the 988 tag brings up the Veterans Crisis Line and how to reach it, and nothing more. It does not place a call, it does not message anyone automatically and it does not send help.
To reach the Veterans Crisis Line you dial 988 and press 1 yourself, or text 838255, or chat online. The tag puts that in front of you; a person still makes the call.
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 their back is the emergency contact back instead of the resources back.
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?
South Pier tags fall into categories by who the tap is for. The U.S. and Star backs use 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.
The 988 back is the resources category instead. It is not addressed to anyone you pick, and nothing personal goes on it.
What information can the tag hold?
On the U.S. and Star, 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.
Small tag. Clear purpose.
Tell me which front you want, or ask anything about them. No list, no drip, no follow up you did not ask for.
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