Since the launch in Mantua, East Parkside, and Powelton Village; READYCommunity engagement has expanded to Belmont, Overbrook, Wynnefield, and Eastwick. Is your Community Ready?
By Francesca Laroche |Community Resilience Coordinator, OEM November 8, 2016
On a blue sky, light-jacket fall Saturday in early November, nearly 100 people packed the seats inside at the Mantua-Haverford Community Center at 39th and Mount Vernon Streets for hours.
Residents of the Mantua, East Parkside, and Powelton Village sections of West Philadelphia spent their Saturday morning learning what they could do, as neighbors and community leaders, to make their neighborhoods stronger, more resilient.
They filled the community center for the launch of READYCommunity, a new initiative from the Office of Emergency Management. READYCommunity brings OEM’s plans and partnerships direct into city neighborhoods. Partners such as Philadelphia Police, Philadelphia Fire, Philadelphia Water Department, Red Paw, PGW, Salvation Army, CLIP, and growing.
The goal of READYCommunity is to help residents across Philadelphia prepare for emergencies. The combined Mantua, East Parkside, and Powelton Village areas mark the first partners OEM is working with to help the public better prepare for and persevere through a crisis, whether it be within one home or a whole city block.
Through a series of workshops, OEM empowers and connects people in a community. OEM does this by educating them on emergency preparedness and creating neighborhood emergency plans that are relevant and specific to their community.
The READYCommunity workshops include:
- Preparedness Workshop. Win giveaways and get tips on planning for an emergency.
- Build A Go-Bag Workshop. Get a FREE backpack filled with emergency supplies, while learning useful tips from our partners like PGW, Salvation Army, Red Paw and many others.
- Community Emergency Plan Workshop. Work with OEM to create an emergency plan for your community.
Are you a READYCommunity?
Work with us.
This program is designed for your group or association, which must consist of at least 20 residents in your neighborhood, to become emergency ready for your specific concerns: whether it’s fires, flooding, hazardous materials, weather related or human-caused hazards.
Our office wants to build relationships with your community. You define who makes up your READYCommunity, and we’ll bring along our partners to help get you prepared!
Philadelphia is a City of Neighborhoods. Home-by-home, block-by-block, we can become a stronger city. You are the public in public safety.
Upcoming READYCommunity events:
- READYBelmont: Community Emergency Plan Q&A during Belmont Alliance Civic Association meeting March 23, 2017
- READYWestBelmont: Community Emergency Plan Q&A during West Belmont Civic Association meeting March 28, 2017
- READYOverbrook/Wynnefield: Kickoff with combination Preparedness and Go Bag Workshop April 10, 2017
- READYBelmont/West Belmont: Community Emergency Plan Workshop April 22,2017
- READYEastwick: Kickoff with combination Preparedness and Go Bag Workshop April 29, 2017
- READYManayunk: Coming soon
If you’re interested in bringing READYCommunity to your neighborhood, contact us at oem@phila.gov.
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