Yesterday, we took a broad view on how this year’s preparedness grants are being allocated. It’s a lot of money, but what does it mean for communities across the country? Let’s take a look at where some of this money is going, and how our state and local partners are planning to use it. This is a snapshot of just a few recipients, with highlights of some local news on each set of grants.
Straight to the numbers:
Buffalo: $5.5 million will go to Buffalo and the surrounding areas as part of the Urban Area Security Initiative program. This is a 10 percent increase from the previous year. More from Empire State News.
Oklahoma: $14 million to Oklahoma. $4.4 million specifically for Oklahoma City and $2.2 million for Tulsa. More from the Oklahoman.
Syracuse: $2 million will go to Syracuse specifically for antiterrorism. More from News10Now TV.
San Diego: $16.2 million for preparedness and antiterrorism. More from KPBS-TV.
New York non-profits: “Sixty-one non-profit organizations throughout the city will receive more than $4 million. The money will fund security measures at targeted institutions, namely yeshivas and synagogues. Under the grant program, organizations will receive up to $75,000 that can be used to train security personnel and purchase security cameras.” More from NY-1 TV, New York.
Tampa Bay: $8 million dollars for antiterrorism. More from The St. Petersburg Times and The Tampa Tribune.
Jersey City-Newark: $41 million dollars focusing on “first responders and safety programs.” More from The Jersey Journal.
Tennessee: $20.3 million to be distributed across Tennessee’s 11 Homeland Security Districts. More from The Chattanoogan.
Toledo: $2.2 million for preparedness and security initiatives. More from WTVG-TV.
Showing posts with label natural disasters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label natural disasters. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Preparedness Grants
This year, the department conducted unprecedented outreach efforts to our state and local partners, ensuring that every grant dollar is invested in smart, sustainable programs. The department undertook this aggressive strategy because those state and local partners have the biggest stake in this process. Simply put, they have the ground level insight on where the threats are, and how best to prepare for and guard against them.
Now, nearly $1.8 billion is no small number, so how do we split the funding, and where does it go? Check out the breakdowns:
$1.7 billion to the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) will be split between:
- The State Homeland Security Program (SHSP)—$861.1 million will build and strengthen preparedness capabilities at all levels through planning, equipment, and readiness activities.
- The Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI)—$798.6 million will enhance urban preparedness capabilities in 62 high-threat, high-density areas. The seven highest risk areas (Tier 1) were allocated approximately $439 million, or 55 percent of available funds, while the remaining areas (Tier 2) will receive the remaining approximately $359 million.
- The Metropolitan Medical Response System Program (MMRS)—$39.8 million, divided evenly among 124 MMRS jurisdictions, will improve regional mass casualty incident preparedness and response capabilities.
- The Citizen Corps Program (CCP)—$14.6 million will bring community and government leaders together to engage citizens in community preparedness, response and recovery activities.
The State Homeland Security Program Tribal (SHSP Tribal) will allocate $1.7 million for eligible tribal applicants to implement preparedness initiatives.
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) will allocate $15 million to support target-hardening activities at non-profit organizations at high risk of a terrorist attack.
The Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) will allocate $34 million to enhance catastrophic incident preparedness in selected high-risk urban areas and support technical assistance funding in FY 2009. RCPGP supports coordination of regional planning for catastrophic events.
Every community is touched by these issues, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that the process is fair and inclusive. We’ve listened to our partners, we’re dedicated to supporting programs that show success, and we’ve streamlined the process to make it more efficient. As the Secretary said herself,
“These grants provide direct support for regional preparedness, urban security and medical response efforts in communities across the country,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The new grants management initiative launched this year will generate better value for every grant dollar while strengthening our nation’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from all disasters.
Let us know if you have some real-world examples of how your community or organization is using a preparedness grant.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Napolitano Monitors Flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota
March 27, 2009 – Thomas Muir briefs Secretary Napolitano about the flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota at the National Operations Center. (DHS Photo/Bahler)
Monday, March 9, 2009
Trip to the Gulf Coast
Last week, I joined Secretary Donovan of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Craig Fugate, the President’s new nominee to be FEMA Administrator, on a two-day trip to the Gulf Coast. Our goal was to get a firsthand look at the recovery efforts underway since Katrina and Rita, meet with state and local leaders, and identify outstanding issues.
What we saw on our trip were very clear signs of progress and a clear determination by the people of the Gulf Coast to rebuild and recover from these terrible storms. But we also saw too many communities still in disrepair, too many construction projects either incomplete or not yet started, and too many people still struggling to reclaim their lives.
We spoke with community leaders, first responders, school teachers, and ordinary citizens to get their perspective. We also took a bus and helicopter tour of New Orleans and a helicopter tour of the Mississippi coast to get a better sense of the remaining challenges.
While in New Orleans, I made several announcements that are designed to cut through some of the red tape that for too long has stalled the completion of a number of important projects, including the reconstruction of two police stations and a fire station.
FEMA will provide replacement funding to rebuild these facilities, as well as an additional $12 million to repair a water treatment plant in St. Bernard parish. It will also provide significant funding to Benjamin Franklin High School, one of our nation’s best high schools that suffered significant damage from Katrina.
To ensure that future public assistance requests aren’t bogged down in endless disputes and paperwork, I also announced the creation of two new teams consisting of FEMA and state representatives that will work together to expedite these requests and make decisions.
Finally, FEMA will be extending relocation assistance for people displaced by Katrina and Rita to help them find permanent housing solutions. And it has extended the deadline for hazard mitigation funding for Mississippi, which will give people more time to file their applications and ultimately build more resilient homes and communities.
All of these actions will help the people of the Gulf Coast continue their recovery. We stand with them, and we will continue to support them.
Janet Napolitano
What we saw on our trip were very clear signs of progress and a clear determination by the people of the Gulf Coast to rebuild and recover from these terrible storms. But we also saw too many communities still in disrepair, too many construction projects either incomplete or not yet started, and too many people still struggling to reclaim their lives.
We spoke with community leaders, first responders, school teachers, and ordinary citizens to get their perspective. We also took a bus and helicopter tour of New Orleans and a helicopter tour of the Mississippi coast to get a better sense of the remaining challenges.
While in New Orleans, I made several announcements that are designed to cut through some of the red tape that for too long has stalled the completion of a number of important projects, including the reconstruction of two police stations and a fire station.
FEMA will provide replacement funding to rebuild these facilities, as well as an additional $12 million to repair a water treatment plant in St. Bernard parish. It will also provide significant funding to Benjamin Franklin High School, one of our nation’s best high schools that suffered significant damage from Katrina.
To ensure that future public assistance requests aren’t bogged down in endless disputes and paperwork, I also announced the creation of two new teams consisting of FEMA and state representatives that will work together to expedite these requests and make decisions.
Finally, FEMA will be extending relocation assistance for people displaced by Katrina and Rita to help them find permanent housing solutions. And it has extended the deadline for hazard mitigation funding for Mississippi, which will give people more time to file their applications and ultimately build more resilient homes and communities.
All of these actions will help the people of the Gulf Coast continue their recovery. We stand with them, and we will continue to support them.
Janet Napolitano
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Responding to the Ice Storms
This past week, the Midwest was hit by a terrible ice storm that took the lives of several dozen of our fellow citizens, damaged homes and property, and left many across the region without power. More bad weather is expected to continue over the next several days.
I've been in touch with the Governors of Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas and moved quickly to provide federal support. FEMA continues to be actively engaged in the region, providing generators, meals, cots, blankets, and bottled water to residents. It is also helping with debris removal, conducting damage assessments, and assisting with disaster claims. We’re also in touch with the relevant power companies to see how quickly permanent power can be restored.
We are working as quickly as we can to help the victims of this storm and return a sense of normalcy to their lives and the region.
Next week I'll be visiting Kentucky and Missouri to meet with state and local officials and identify what else the federal government can do to support their citizens as they plan for recovery.
Beyond dealing with these recovery efforts, I'll also be traveling to Kansas and Iowa to work on our preparations for the upcoming flood and tornado season, which is just around the corner.
The time to prepare is now. Indeed, last year FEMA faced 90 federally-declared disasters and provided assistance to 36 states. That included the back-to-back hurricanes of Gustav and Ike, deadly tornadoes, Midwest floods, and wildfires.
Thanks to the good work of our DHS employees and everything we're doing now, we'll be ready to respond quickly and support the men, women and families in communities across the country.
Janet Napolitano
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