Please come to Palisades Alliance for Seniors' October 21 program, titled "Resilient Neighborhoods: How coming together before a disaster ensures care for all.” Our speakers will be K.C. Soll, who helms the Palisades Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and Stephanie Benjamin, who is a public safety expert.
The speakers will discuss what you can do to prepare for emergencies, what supplies you should have on hand in your home, and how you can get involved in the CERT program.
In case of a disaster or emergency, it is important to know how to protect yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your neighborhood. The LA Fire Department set up the CERT program to ensure that the population has the best possible chance of surviving a disaster and thriving afterward.
A key tenet of the CERT program is giving people the knowledge to be able to help themselves and their neighbors in the event of an emergency until public safety personnel are available. (If there is a significant earthquake, phones and other communications channels may be interrupted, and Fire Department personnel and first responders may be delayed for days or weeks on end.) Under the guidance of local government, CERT members will be able to organize and assist in the emergency. Jobs can vary; in a disaster there will be a need to fill positions in everything from filling out paperwork, to child care, to search and rescue. If you are willing to volunteer, CERT will do its best to find a place for you.
K.C. Soll is part of a team of four people, all CERT and ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) ham radio volunteers, who have been organizing preparedness lectures and training in the Palisades for years.
Stephanie Benjamin has worked in emergency management, response, education and preparedness for more than twenty years, utilizing her skills to respond to disasters and educate communities. She operates an emergency preparedness business and has an M.S. in emergency management. She has taught CERT for 15 years and been an EMT for 21 years.
The free program will take place in the Palisades Branch Library’s Community Room, and run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The library is located at 861 Alma Real Drive in Pacific Palisades. For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Palisades Alliance, in conjunction with the Palisades Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, offers programs of particular interest to seniors.