A girl operates a ham radio, which can provide vital information during disasters.
Photo: Wikipedia
The Palisades Alliance for Seniors will present a program titled “Resilient Neighborhoods: How Coming Together Before a Disaster Ensures Care for All.”
The meeting will take place at 10:30 a.m. on October 21 in the Palisades Library community room, 861 Alma Real. The speakers will be public safety experts Stephanie Benjamin and K.C. Soll. Free admission.
Soll is part of a team of four people, all CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) ham radio volunteers, who have been organizing preparedness lectures and training in Pacific Palisades for years.
Benjamin has worked in emergency management, response, education and preparedness for more than 20 years, utilizing her skills to respond to disasters and educate communities. She has taught CERT for 15 years and has been an EMT for 21 years.
Soll and Benjamin 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, which was established through the L.A. Fire Department.
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 in reaching victims for days or weeks.) Under the guidance of local government, CERT members will be able to organize and assist in the emergency.