Save Yourself First. Then Others.
December 12th, 2007 Categories: Neighbor Helping Neighbor
Neighborhood Safety Net
Neighborhood Safety Net addresses the tremendous need to assist people to attain a higher degree of self-sufficiency, and to deal with disasters, in an effective program.
I became a sponsor for my immediate neighborhood network after witnessing the inaction of the people living in New Orleans who appeared to be frozen and unable to help themselves. They relied instead on local, state and federal agencies to step in and do everything.
That is not going to happen at least immediately. In a crisis individuals will have to do things for themselves. As the Neighborhood Safety Network program tells us, your obligation is to protect yourself and family first. Once your family is safe then help your immediate neighbor and the elderly. Continue this until all in the neighborhood are accounted for.
Know ahead of time what you have to do. Know where can go and know what assets the neighborhood has to work with. Know who has power saws; trucks; who is a nurse or doctor; what is the emergency police and fire department frequency.
You have to know before hand and not after a disaster occurs. Listed below are the highlights of the program and it is recommended that each neighborhood has their own safety net.
Key Features of the Program.
- Organized Social Interaction
- Evacuation Planning and Drills
- Upwards of 10% reduction in Crime
- Disaster Preparedness Program
- Emergency Communication System
Social Interaction.
Neighbors get to meet and interact with each other – in person at Neighbor Get-Togethers; at safety preparation days; online; as team members.
Neighbor Get-Together – regular events, at neighbors homes, for acquainting, socializing, education.
Safety Preparation Days – set-aside time to work on the reality of making preparedness happen.
Online – interact in a face-based private system – post announcements, share calendars, etc. Team Members – safety teams work together to help prepare themselves, and the neighborhood.
Evacuation Planning and Drills.
Over 60% of residents aren’t ready for emergencies at all, and the rest are basically ill prepared. We guide residents to work with each other, know their own needs, and to be able to act without direction, if need be. Each resident learns how to use their ‘Resource and Needs’ list for emergency first aid, and knows how to use their FRS/GMRS radio back-up system for coordination with, or direction from – Information Officers, City Managers, First Responders, Incident Commanders… Residents learn about the 4 Evacu-Kits – what they are composed of, and how to use them. They log their ICE (In Case of Emergency) numbers into all phones for additional coordination, and they use the evac-link private communications system as the key point to obtain any and all messages from disaster, safety and public officials – before, during and after a disaster – specific to their neighborhood; it’s totally unique. Everyone’s in the loop.
Upwards of 10% reduction in Crime.
It’s been documented that just through sending email notifications of crime trends and scams, to a limited number of Neighborhood Watch participants, that crime goes down roughly 6% vis-à-vis similar areas of the same cities, where this email notification is not used. As our CECAS feature adds another powerful element to crime notifications, we expect that reduction in crime to be 10% or more. Instead of reaching a tiny percentage of each neighborhood, this information will reach the majority of people. Everyone has a hand in crime reduction, and now you have an effective way to make it real.
Disaster Preparedness Program.
Disaster preparedness training is provided ongoing, and in ‘bite size’ components, in various settings, and with a number of trainers with expertise in the ‘what, where, when and how’. Together with creative data culled from hundreds or resources, you will now find that ‘there really is a way’ to effectively prepare – and also to have fun doing so!
