A Little Help From Our Friends
Everyone is resetting for the new year so I though I might help by providing some resource for anyone who might have made a New Years resolution for themselves to be better prepared for emergencies. Though I deal with some of the worst emergencies, we all have, at times, to manage emergencies that occur from weather, mistakes, or whatever we might call it - fate.
So here’s are a few of my favorite unsung heroes in the resource world; places I send people to all the time. They have great, free, training, tools and other interesting information that so many of us don’t take the time to look through. I’ll send you to the pages that have to do with active shooter matters and mass shootings, if they have one, but take the time to look through the site. You’ll be amazed at what you find.
The Red Cross has a free active shooter PowerPoint slide deck of training materials you can review on your own and provide to your family, organization, business, or school here. You can also find extensive materials and courses in English and Spanish to train yourself, your congregation, your library staff, your employees or anyone you please in first aid, AED use, and CPR.
The 100-year-old Council advocates reducing risk at work, in homes, in communities, and on the road. The Council site is filled with tools and resources to share and educate the reader. Look here for free active shooter presentations and other materials. The site is so thorough they even have the advertisement flyer so you can post it in lunchrooms and on bulletin boards to announce the training.
HHS can get you started if you work on, or are responsible for, emergency matters in a health care setting. For guides in the development of emergency operations plans, look here.
And finally my favorite unsung hero - the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within HHS focuses on behavioral health, including reducing mental illness in America’s communities. They have published recommendations to support crisis intervention teams and provide mental health resources for schools.