Hi All,

Over half (54%) of Americans believe they will be reunited with their children within several hours of a disaster. Did you know it took almost 7 months to reunite the last child with her family after Katrina?  I did not!

The Resilient Children Resilient Communities initiative supports two pilot communities -one in Arkansas and Putnam County, NY to become better prepared for emergencies.  Each county will assess and improve capacities to meet the needs of children in emergencies. Both counties have created a Community Resilience Coalition that will help to strengthen partnerships among organizations that includes the health department, emergency management, schools, child care providers, after school programs, law enforcement, and first responders.  The coalition meets to discuss communication strategies, emergency planning and training for child-serving agencies to coordinate efforts in the county. 

Annie and I have joined this Community Resilience Coalition to better prepare our program and staff in the event of an emergency.  We are working together with many community organizations to strengthen the ability of local organizations to protect children before, during and after an emergency or disaster. 

Next week on Wednesday, 2/22 and Thursday, 2/23 we will have age appropriate discussions and activities with the children in our Elementary School after school program regarding emergencies they might encounter and ways to better prepare ourselves.  Then on Friday, 2/24 we will have a Prep Rally (get it prep/prepared) from 4-5:00 PM.  Please join us for this special event!  We will have games, and community representatives from-the PV Fire Department, Cortlandt Ambulance Corp., Save the Children, and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.  The Sheriff's Department will be running an Operation SAFE CHILD station, where your child will receive an ID card with pertinent information on it to be carried in the event of an emergency.  Annie will have the Operation SAFE CHILD form that must be filled out and signed by a parent at the Center for you if you would like an ID card for your child.   Each child will leave the event on Friday 2/24 with a backpack from Save the Children filled with items that make them feel safe in an emergency.

These videos were recommended for parents to view-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6EykaMjWlc

http://www.savethechildren.org/videos

I hope you will  join us on Friday 2/24 for our Prep Rally at the Children's Center ES site.

Lisa Kroohs

PVPR