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National
Preparedness Month starts September 1. We’re kicking things off August 28 – September 3 to
promote this national campaign to prepare individuals, families, and
communities for disasters and other emergencies. This year’s theme is “Don’t
Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.”
Each week of National Preparedness Month has a designated theme:
- Week 1 (August 28-September 3): Kickoff to National Preparedness
Month
- Week 2 (September 4-10): Preparing Family and Friends
- Week 3 (September 11-17): Preparing Through Service
- Week 4 (September 18-24): Individual Preparedness
- Week 5 (September 25-30): Lead Up to National PrepareAthon! Day
Join us by accessing the 2016 National
Preparedness Month Social Media Toolkit on the Ready Campaign website. There, you’ll find preparedness
messages to share with family, friends, and colleagues. You’ll also find
additional resources such as graphics, instructional videos, and public service
announcements to support preparedness in your community.
Get ready! Get prepared! National Preparedness Month is coming
soon.
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One way to show your support for National Preparedness Month is through
volunteering. Volunteers can play an important role in their communities by
helping first responders after a disaster. Join thousands of Americans
participating in the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance to honor those
who lost their lives during the September 11, 2001 attacks. The National Day of
Service is also dedicated to survivors and those who served their
communities following the attacks. Find volunteer opportunities in your area today!
Also, @Citizen_Corps will host a Twitter chat on Friday, September
9 at 1 PM ET discussing the importance of volunteering and ways you can support
your community. Join the conversation using #Prep2Serve.
School bells are ringing across the nation! Parents
and guardians, it’s time to get familiar with the emergency plan at your
child’s school and daycare.
Much
like individuals and families, schools and daycare providers should all have
site-specific emergency plans. If you’re a parent or guardian, it’s vital that
you make sure your child’s school or daycare has a plan to ensure his or her
safety during an emergency. The Ready Campaign recommends you:
- Ask how they will communicate with families during a crisis;
- Ask if they store adequate food, water, and other basic supplies;
and
- Find out if they can “shelter-in-place” and where they plan to go
if they must get away.
Disasters can occur while your child is away
from you, but protecting from afar is as easy as ABC. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outline a quick and easy way to keep your child safe at school
or daycare:
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Ask how you will reunite with your child in an
emergency or evacuation;
-
Bring extra medication, special foods, or
supplies that your child might need; and
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Complete a backpack
contact information card.
If your child has a disability or an access or
functional need, be sure to meet with a school disability specialist to discuss
plans for how the school will provide for his or her safety. For more
information about school emergency plans, visit https://www.ready.gov/school-emergency-plans.
Parents, guardians, and teachers can also use
the Children and Youth Preparedness Social Media Toolkit to share safety messages on their social media
networks.
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Disasters
can leave children feeling frightened, confused, and insecure. Whether a child
has personally experienced trauma or seen the event on television, it’s
important for parents to be informed and ready to help ease their child’s
stress.
According
to the Ready Campaign, children may respond to disaster by
demonstrating fears, sadness, or behavioral problems. These reactions may vary
depending on the child’s age.
Children’s reactions are often
influenced by the behavior, thoughts, and feelings of adults. Parents can help
meet their child’s emotional needs by:
- Encouraging
him or her to share thoughts and feelings about the incident;
- Clarifying
misunderstandings about risk and danger by listening to their child’s concerns
and answering questions;
- Maintaining a sense of calm by
validating their child’s concerns and perceptions with discussion of concrete
plans for safety; and
- Monitoring or limiting exposure to the
media.
For
more information about helping children cope with disaster, www.ready.gov/coping-with-disaster.
Disclaimer: The reader recognizes that the
federal government provides links and informational data on various disaster
preparedness resources and events and does not endorse any non-federal events,
entities, organizations, services or products. Please let us know about other events
and services for individual and community preparedness that could be included
in future newsletters by contacting citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov.
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