The NY Citizen Preparedness Training Program came to the David S. Mack Center to educate local residents from Uniondale and surrounding communities on potential disasters. The event was a partnership between Central Nassau Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (NANBPWC), Inc., Citizen Preparedness Corps of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and the Uniondale Police Activity League (PAL).
The Citizen Preparedness Corps hosts training seminars to provide people with the tools and resources to prepare for any type of disaster or emergency, respond accordingly and recover as quickly as possible to pre-disaster conditions.
Citizen Preparedness Corps training began in February 2014 and continues in towns across New York. Trainings are led by the New York National Guard, which works with experts from the Division’s Office of Emergency Management and Office of Fire Prevention and Control, according to the news release. Sessions are coordinated with local county emergency management personnel at different venues such as community centers, including the David Mack Center.
The course provides an introduction to responding to a natural or human-caused disaster, the news release said. Participants are taught a variety of crucial skills, including how to properly develop family emergency plans and stock up on emergency supplies. Over 30 people attended the session on Dec. 10, according to Adrian Goodwin, vice president of the Central Nassau Club and board member of the Uniondale PAL, and she said people who have experienced natural disasters in the past expressed their appreciation to her for the event.
“The community highly valued the program, emphasizing the crucial information gained,” Goodwin said.
A key component of the training is distribution of free Disaster Preparedness Kits to participants. These kits contain examples of key items to assist individuals in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, according to the news release. The state training and kits are meant to help New Yorkers be as highly trained and best-prepared as possible for potential disasters.
“It was very helpful, it was very informative, very clear and concise and easy to understand,” Vanessa Beveney, a participant, said of the program. To learn more, visit Prepare.NY.gov.
