Civil Defense: The time is NOW

Ever since 9/11, It has been suggested that groups hostile to our nation are embedded within the US and may possess small nuclear devices, often referred to as “suitcase bombs”, capable of causing threat-to-life in localized areas. 

If such an event were to happen near you, would you know how to respond effectively to protect life and health?

Our nation is primarily uninformed and unprepared about all things nuclear.  National civil defense education and response were abandoned many decades ago.   

The notable exception is The American Civil Defense Association (TACDA.org), formed in 1962, headquartered here in Draper, dedicated to Emergency, Disaster and Nuclear Preparedness.  

Networking & Preparation

Who will help us When Disaster Strikes? And a related topic:  Why We Must Be Prepared to Meet Our Essential Needs for the first 96 hours.

You and I, as a group are vulnerable due to our health, but we may also be at risk because of advanced age.  And we may have the additional vulnerability of poverty.  Any one of these three factors -- health, senior age and living below the poverty line – put us in a category of disproportionate risk for injury or loss of life.  That is why we may very well need the help of others.  But it is up to us to ask.

Senior Residential and Assisted Care Living

Is senior residential living or assisted living in your future?  Please put Emergency Planning on your list of features you expect from such a facility. They are required by state law to have a Plan and practice it annually. You can ask a facility’s marketing manager “Does this facility have an Emergency Plan?  May I see it?”  Better yet, ask for a copy you can take home and read leisurely.  Let the marketing manager know that the emergency preparedness of their facility is every bit as important to you as apartment lay-out, meal quality and activities.  

Emergency Plans

We each need a Plan to inform our appropriate preparation, manage our involvement and gain/share know-how.  Do you/your household have an Emergency Plan?

In addition, your neighborhood, congregation, council area, or city may have an Emergency Plan. Find out. Take an interest; ask to see it. You are not asking for the purpose of challenging anyone, but to show genuine interest. 

Does the Plan address your needs as a senior or someone with Access & Functional Need?  Is the Plan regularly practiced?  If your needs are not included in the Plan, it is unlikely they will be practiced in a drill.  And if not practiced, how likely is it that your needs will be addressed in an actual emergency?  

If you are able, consider asking how you can help with the planning and the next practice.  Getting involved is a way to lend a hand and to assure your needs are included. 

Networking is Vital

Regardless of the type of emergency event, or what response it requires of us – On-Foot Evacuation, Auto Evacuation, or Sheltering at Home -- NETWORKING is vital for us.  It builds warm, wonderful relationships in our everyday life and in a crisis it saves lives.  

Do you have rapport with some of the younger, stronger neighbors on your street?  Neighbors you could approach about your vulnerabilities and concerns regarding a large-scale disaster or even a local emergency?

If you lack that rapport, now would be a perfect time to cultivate genuine neighborly friendships.  Do you bake?  Make soups?  Repair things?  Babysit?  Do you have a veggie garden that allows you to share your harvest?  Give it some thought.  How could you make genuine outreaches? 

Information Resources

I want to urge you to be a frequent visitor to the Utah Commission on Aging website.  It is weighted with marvelous information and resources that aid and inform every part of an aging life and it is useful for Access & Functional Needs matters.  You will want to go back to this resource time and time again.  The website is “Utahaging.org”.  

Our state has an extensive Emergency Preparedness library: “BeReadyUtah.gov”. They have a website and a You Tube channel.  Be certain to checkout their BUZZ series of very short (less than 90 seconds) and entertaining Tips.  

The American Red Cross also has Preparation, Response and Recovery information.  

Check out my BLOG for a variety of short, educational articles:  PrepareToRespond.blogspot.com

Pets

Our pets are dear. For many of us, pets are family. 

PET KIT: This is such an important topic. Make sure each pet has a tag with your identification. You must bring pets in carriers to any gathering/shelter environment – another use for wheelies as part of your kit. 

Pets also must have leashes.  Include pet medical records, (especially proof of immunization). Should you end up in an American Red Cross shelter please know they permit only legitimate service dogs inside shelters. 

If you are a pet owner, I suggest you join w/other pet owners in your locale to create a Pet Emergency Response Plan.  This would involve having a safe place for pets adjacent to your human gathering location/shelter.  No one is going to set this up for you. This will only occur as a result of networking, pre-need.