FEMA Region 7’s Monthly Toolkit Newsletter
Prepare to Protect: Preparing for Disasters is Protecting Everyone You Love

Individual and Community Preparedness Monthly Toolkits Bulletin

August 2022

Welcome to Region 7's monthly toolkits bulletin! Each month we bring you timely and relevant toolkits and shareable information to help you and your organization carry out preparedness activities. Fall is just around the corner and it's time to prepare students for heading back to school. FEMA Region 7 is using the month of August to educate families and emergency management professionals on tips to keep students safe before, during, and after school.

We are eight months into our year-long 12 Ways to Prepare campaign and for August we discuss ways to make your home safer for every member of your family.

Back to School Safety Toolkit

Nearly 70M children are in school or childcare each workday. And when parents send their kids to school or daycare, they expect that they’ll be safe. While schools have a responsibility for student safety, parents and caretakers also have a responsibility to reinforce what is learned in school and teach what is not.

Inside this toolkit, we provide information for parents so they can make their most informed decision on how best to teach their kids, and their family, about school safety. Also provided in this toolkit are strategies to help children cope with stressful situations related to disasters.

Finally, we’ll look at some of the great programs that educators, club organizers, and teens can participate in, like Teen CERT | Ready.gov and Youth Preparedness Council | FEMA.gov. Everyone has a role to play, and with growing interest in preparedness and emergency management, these education programs and clubs can help spread awareness.

Back to School Safety Toolkit

Emergency Planning with Youth

Disaster planning, response and recovery efforts must consider the unique needs and abilities of children, who make up roughly a quarter of the U.S. population.

• Children Are Positive Influencers - Children can effectively bring the message of preparedness home to their families.

• Children Can Become Leaders - Participating in youth preparedness programs empowers children to become leaders at home and in their schools and communities.

• Children Can be Confident During an Emergency - Children who are prepared experience less anxiety and feel more confident during actual emergencies and disasters.

Youth preparedness and including youth in emergency management is an essential part of engaging the whole community. As you and your organization prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters, use our resources to explore how you can provide services that assist youth and families with children.

Find more information on preparing youth at:
Emergency Planning with Children | FEMA.gov
New Teacher Resources for a New School Year (fema.gov)
SchoolSafety.gov | School Safety Resources

Start a Local Youth Preparedness Program, Council, or Club

Getting young people invested in emergency preparedness is crucial! Not only does it help to lessen anxiety when a real emergency occurs, it also empowers them to assist with preparedness messaging.

Young people are tapped into their community, school, after-school sports, local organizations where they work or volunteer—or even on social media. If youth learn how to protect themselves in an emergency, they can become a “peer” resource for their family and friends.

They can also participate in programs like Teen CERT | Ready.gov and become trained to help with response efforts in their school and community. This experience can even lead to an interest in a career in the public safety or emergency management field.

The benefits of having a youth preparedness program are far and wide. Learn how to start a youth program in your community with the FEMA Ready Youth Toolkit in a Box.pdf

12 Ways to Prepare: Make Your Home Safer

The eighth month preparedness action in our 12 Ways to Prepare campaign is making your home safer.

Is your home as safe as it could be? If you live in a flood plain, have you made changes to your home to mitigate damage? For seniors in the home, are their mobility and other safety needs addressed? Are those in the home with disabilities equipped to know when an emergency is occurring and ways to safely evacuate? What about the safety needs of infants and small children?

Below is information for ensuring your home is a safe place for all:

Reduce Risk for Your Home | FEMA.gov
FEMA Mitigation Guide for Older Adults.pdf
How to Make Your Home Safe for Aging Parents (aarp.org)
NFPA - Fire Safety for People with Disabilities
Reduce In-Home Accidents - Charlie's House (charlieshouse.org)

Upcoming Events

Practical Preparedness Webinar
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Noon to 1PM CDT

As part of National Preparedness Month, please join FEMA Region 7 and Jennifer Fales, Stone Owl Preparedness, for a webinar on practical ways to prepare for a disaster or other emergency. In 2020 the pandemic hit, and the world saw challenges on an unprecedented level such as stay-at-home orders, business and school closures, supply chain issues and subsequent shortages of critical supplies. How well were you or your family prepared?

Personal preparedness means creating an emergency plan, developing an emergency kit, and building skills in case of a disaster. In this webinar Ms. Fales will discuss how to prepare for the big emergencies that rarely happen and the little emergencies that happen every day. She will present on the Prepper Rules of 3, basic supplies and skills, common preparedness challenges, prepping for low/no cost, and what should be included in a car emergency kit.

Who should attend? The whole community, individuals and families, volunteer and faith-based organizations, local, state, federal government and private sector.

Register Here

For more information about the newsletter and the toolkits, please contact Georgette.
Georgette K. Wallace
Regional Disability Integration Specialist (RDIS) |Region 7
Office: (816) 283-7046|Mobile: (202) 549-5681
[email protected]
Federal Emergency Management Agency
fema.gov