We CAN be prepared!

With great sadness I sat watching the news coverage of the aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake. Even as the supplies were arriving, the scene was disheartening because there was no emergency plan in place and distribution of goods and services was a challenge among all of the devastation. I'm drawn to watching the actions of the rescue teams, probably because of my own Emergency Response Training (CERT) that I've focused on for the past year. I don't know everything about rescue skills but I know alot more than I did a year ago and I sense a peace in knowing that I'm better prepared than before. I've found the training very empowering and now as I actually witness disaster relief in real time I can't help but wonder how well our little neighborhood will survive this type of emergency when our turn comes about - which is a for sure thing with how close we live to a major fault line. All though we have our own set of factors that will contribute to an emergency in our area, the bottom line for us will depend on how many individuals/families have had the foresight to prepare ahead of time.
- We are fortunate to live in a neighborhood that has many people with valuable emergency skills. Medical, Fire, Water Safety Knowledge,
- We have a basic plan that has our area divided into blocks with a captain/leader for each block.
- A House ID kit has been provided for each house in the neighborhood. If anyone doesn't have theirs OR needs a new kit (pictured in the sidebar to the right) PLEASE contact your block captain right away so we can be sure you get one.
- We have 8 people who have been trained with Emergency First Response Skills (CERT) but we need many more and encourage as many as possible to participate in either the AVERT training or the Lehi Fire Dept training.

As a group, we're on the right path. This is a good time for each household to re-evaluate their family plans/ skills / knowledge. It's also a good time to update emergency kits and review Food Storage. As we work individually and together, WE really CAN BE PREPARED!