Finding Local Partners: Community Preparedness
Check out the organizations already doing good work. Many existing service groups have identified community needs and have built the expertise to provide solutions. A few phone calls or scanning a few websites can produce all the information you need to know about your options.
- Visit www.CitizenCorps.gov to find local Citizen Corps Councils, USAonWatch (Neighborhood Watch) teams, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Fire Corps units, Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) units, and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) units and ask them what you can do to prepare and train yourself and your community for disasters.
- You can also get in touch with your local fire department, police department, paramedics, or emergency management agency to discuss ways to prepare your community and improve its capacity to respond to and recover from disaster.
- Contact local chapters of Citizen Corps Affiliates, such as the American Red Cross and National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster for local disaster preparedness and response service opportunities. Be sure to ask the organization for items they might need. Find more information at: http://www.citizencorps.gov/programs/affiliate.shtm.
- Once you’ve identified the appropriate community-based organizations, search their website or give them a call to see how you can help, or how you can better prepare yourself and your community.
