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Building Community Resiliency Through the Block Preparedness Coordinator Program

Vital Stats

Divya S

people helped500
People Doing It 30

The Problem

The Bay Area is prone to earthquakes and expert opinion states that the Big One could strike anytime from here on out. We need our communities to proactively participate in disaster preparedness. One such initiative called the Block Preparedness Coordinator (BPC) program in Palo Alto aims to strengthen the resiliency and coordination of the city’s neighborhoods, one block at a time. The BPC is in need of funds to procure necessary equipment.

Plan of Action

The plan of action is to lead a group of teens to push for the expansion of this program by subsidizing the costs of the FRS Radios, which will make them more affordable for families to purchase, and thus join the Block Preparedness Coordinator Program. I will lead group of teens in starting a free community class to raise awareness about disaster preparedness, and help families begin to become prepared. At the same time we will educate them about the importance of the BPC Program in the city, and how vital it is that every block has a coordinator in order for the program to be fully functional. The class will be taught once a month at the Community Center, and will be available to all people in the community. This awareness, along with the grant money, will help expand the BPC Program, and thus have a long-term impact on the safety, and social, emotional, and mental well-being of people in the community as our community becomes more resilient BEFORE a disaster strikes.