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| This Citizen Corps News Digest is provided by FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division to highlight community preparedness and resilience resources and activities recently announced by federal agencies and Citizen Corps partners. |
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DHS and FEMA Updates
"Map Your Neighborhood" is Challenge.gov Winner
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate announced that the Map Your Neighborhood program from the Washington State Emergency management Division is this year's Challenge.gov winner. THe program "is a very easy program to understand and does not rely on a large group to participate, just you and your immediate neighbors. It teaches basic preparedness and give some insight as to what may be needed and who, in your own neighborhood, is able to provide it." Read the FEMA blog post from Administrator Fugate and link to information about the winner and other submissions.
New Ready Business PSAs Urge Small Businesses to Prepare in Advance for an Emergency
According to the Insurance Information Institute, up to 40% of businesses affected by a natural or man-made disaster never reopen. In an effort to raise the business community's awareness about how to prepare their businesses and employees in the event of an emergency, the Advertising Council, in partnership with FEMA and the American Red Cross, announced the launch of new public service advertisements (PSAs) on behalf of Ready Business. This new campaign begs the question "Where will a disaster leave your business?" and encourages small business owners to reduce their risk of losing their business after a disaster by taking steps to plan in advance of an emergency. The PSAs direct consumers to the www.ready.gov/business , which provides a link to the free Red Cross Ready Rating business preparedness assessment tool. This online tool provides business owners with a clear picture of the preparedness level of their business and what further steps they need to take to get their business ready. With an emergency plan in place, businesses can better adapt, recover and stay in control. For a preview of the new PSAs, please click here .
Consider Working with FEMA in Disaster Preparedness
A Supervisory Program Specialist position is open in FEMA's Individual and Community Preparedness Division. The position will support the division's grassroots strategy to bring community and government leaders together to involve community members and organizations in all hazards emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response and recovery. You will have a thorough knowledge of building and sustaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders for the Individual and Community Preparedness Division (ICPD). This position is specifically responsible for supervising and leading a team of subject matter expert staff for ICPD, managing Division programs, identifying and developing partner programs and affiliates, conducting projects, and acting as a FEMA and ICPD liaison to agency components, other agencies, and external stakeholders. You will have contract and budget management knowledge, and exercise planning experience. Click here to see the job description on USAJOBS .
Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates Updates
Red Cross Teams Up with Dr. Oz and Sharecare to Launch Lifesaving App
Just in time for the busy summer season, a new smartphone app launched by the American Red Cross, Dr. Mehmet Oz and the medical website Sharecare makes it even easier for the average person to help in an emergency. The “S.O.S by the American Red Cross” is a free app that provides real-time emergency care instructions and an expansive resource guide for emergency care information in order to help save lives. The app is available only for Android mobile devices. Once activated, app users are guided through a victim assessment and receive step-by-step video narration and follow-along demonstrations by Dr. Oz. More than 30 protocols for the most common emergency care situations were adapted for the Android app. 3-D animations, provided by Visible Productions, Inc., are included for the more complex protocols, specifically Hands-Only CPR and Choking along with an audio and visual counter for real-time CPR compressions. The Resource Guide covers more than 50 common emergency care situations with easy to understand instructions for treating seizures to broken bones. Read more about this here.
Celebrate Safe Communities
Celebrate Safe Communities! Whether you are planning a summer safety fair, a Neighborhood Watch expansion, or a meet and greet with local police and fire officials to keep your community safe during the summer months, the National Crime Prevention Council has a program, Celebrate Safe Communities, which offers support for your local efforts. Celebrate Safe Communities (CSC) is crime prevention done the right way — local folks working with local law enforcement to address local issues. CSC spotlights communities' crime prevention efforts, enhances public awareness of vital crime prevention and safety message, and recruits year-round support for ongoing prevention activities that help keep neighborhoods safe from crime and prepared for any emergency. Read more here.
A Red Cross Volunteer's Thoughts from Joplin, MO
Red Cross Youth volunteer Jerrika Walkup, 15, has been helping people at the Red Cross shelter in Joplin, Missouri after a massive tornado tore through the town. She is from Neosho, Missouri and shares her observations and insights on volunteering in Joplin and challenges others to get involved. See her blog post here.
You Can Keep Good Volunteers - Podcast from VIPS
Volunteers in Police Service developed a podcast titled "How to Keep Good Volunteers: Volunteer Manager Perspectives on Retention". Keeping experienced volunteers is a priority for agencies. In this podcast, volunteer managers share their secrets, ideas, and philosophies on volunteer retention. To hear this podcast and others click here.
National Workshop on 9-1-1 Overload
The 9-1-1 Industry Alliance will host a national workshop on 9-1-1 Overload on October 4-5, 2011 in Washington, D.C. Public safety decision-makers and government officials are being invited to engage in a national dialog on this important problem, which affects people in need of help due to incidents ranging from routine emergencies to major disasters. For more information, see the agenda and more here.
Texas Creates Tools to Meet Access and Functional Needs in General Population Shelters
The State of Texas FNSS Integration Committee has created a toolkit that can be incorporated into existing shelter plans to meet access and functional needs in general population shelters. THis toolkit can help provide planning guidance to local emergency management and shelter planners and support the requirements related to sheltering children and adults with and without disabilities who have access and functional needs. Click here to see the Texas Department of Public Safety Functional Needs Support Services page. Also, see their "Surviving Disaster" video series here.
These news stories and other Individual & Community Preparedness news can be found on our website at www.citizencorps.gov .
Sincerely,
The National Office of Citizen Corps
FEMA Individual & Community Preparedness Division
FEMA Major Disaster Declarations Updates
Illinois Severe Storms And Flooding
Minnesota Severe Storms And Tornadoes
New Mexico Wallow Fire
Alaska Ice Jam And Flooding
New York Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds
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CERT in Action! New stories posted on CERT National Website
Dear CERT Community,
Learn about the activities of CERTs across the country in the CERT in Action! stories just posted at the national CERT website:
CERT in Action! is about sharing the stories of local CERT Programs whose Teams have responded in emergencies. The stories capture how Teams make a difference in their communities, and the shared stories will enable all CERT Programs to benefit from the experiences of individual programs. Additional stories are added to the site regularly.
If you have a story about your "CERT in Action!" please let us know by contacting us at cert@dhs.gov.
When you submit your story, please be sure to include the following:
· Your contact information (name and email address)
· Location of your CERT program
· Event for which CERTs were used
· Date(s) of the event
· 2-3 paragraphs on what the CERTs did: Number of CERT members activated, types of activities performed, agency that oversaw the CERTs during this event, and any challenges and successes experienced during activation |
If you have a picture to submit with the story, please list the people in the picture and the activity they are performing.
Prior to posting your story online , we will reach out to the contact person to confirm the facts. We look forward to your stories, and thank you in advance for sharing with the CERT community.
Sincerely,
National CERT Program Office
Individual & Community Preparedness Division
Federal Emergency Management Agency
U.S. Department of Homeland
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