What would YOU do if:
· A fire swept through the neighborhood
· An earthquake hit
· There was a flood or mudslide
· Theft in the area increased
· There was a medical emergency with a neighbor
How do you communicate when the power is off?
Who has emergency supplies?
Which of your neighbors is skilled enough to help?
Which of your neighbors are in the neighborhood right now?
In a situation where your emergency hotline is not available, your neighborhood, if prepared, is your best back-up mechanism. Imagine this: a neighborhood with a back-up communications system, where the neighbors know each other well and where neighbors are trained to help each other in emergencies.
The neighborhood has a communications system structure in place that makes it easy for you to activate the designated people in your neighborhood to respond. This is a neighborhood with a location established to store emergency supplies; a neighborhood where suspicious characters are spotted easily because everyone knows who is supposed to be in the area and who is not. This is a neighborhood where you feel safe to come home to, because it is connected and prepared.
Introducing
NSN
Neighborhood Safety Net
Neighborhood Safety Net is a non-profit organization. It's main activity is supplying ORGANIZATION, INTERACTION and TRUST BUILDING mechanisms We get people, suppliers, services, and other organizations to work together within a specific framework.
We are dedicated to helping neighbors form into communities and helping those communities become more self sufficient in the face of crime and disaster.
Our mission statement is:
"Creating a safer world, one neighborhood at a time"
We will consider our mission complete when we see neighborhoods everywhere that have a sense of community, where people know each other well, where people are kept informed accurately and in a timely manner. Where there is no crime and should a disaster strike; everyone in the neighborhood will know exactly what to do to respond, and how to recover and heal the wounds.
How do we intend to achieve this goal?
Although we are following in the footsteps of the Neighborhood Watch program, and the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program, NSN introduces these new and critical components to the mix:
Encouraging the use of available technology:
- Online private communication with authentication
- Hand held radios
Introducing concepts:
- The Neighborhood Safety Team / City Safety Team concept
- Ongoing education through each neighborhood's own safety team
- Direct connection with real time two-way communication to fire and police departments through HAM radios during an emergency
Community building:
- Neighborhood Prepared-And-Ready clubs
- Neighborhood Social clubs on specific subjects
Think of NSN as the promoter of an IDEA, just as Neighborhood Watch is an IDEA. The difference is that we have an organization focused on implementing the idea by tying together existing technologies in a new way and emailing to each member our eManual version of our Neighborhood Prepared & Ready Members Handbook which includes:
- "How to establish and run a Neighborhood Prepared-And-Ready club"
- "How to establish and run a Neighborhood Safety Team"
- "How to establish and run a city-wide communications network"
In order to achieve our goal we work with others, specifically:
- Police (existing Neighborhood Watch Coordinators)
- Fire departments (existing CERT training program)
- Red Cross / Red Crescent (CPR/First Aid training program)
- TrustedFaces (online Neighborhood Prepared-And-Ready clubs) www.trustedfaces.com
- Cobra (hand held radios) www.cobra.com
- Emergency equipment suppliers
- Media (making informational DVDs)
- Vehicle suppliers
Communication
In order for the neighborhood to be safer, it is very important that each neighbor participate. This is not something that works by "leaving it to others". Each participating neighbor uses the private communications system employed by NSN to connect to other neighbors, and to the "organizer" within that neighborhood.
NSN's selected online network system is supplied by TrustedFaces™. It is a "participant authenticated" network that features validated members with the picture of each participant. This is crucial for neighbors to recognize any unwanted or suspicious character in the neighborhood. It will provide a head count in case of a disaster and tell rescuers who and how many lived there. It's also helpful in getting to know each other and saying that first "hello" when passing.
As
part of the program we include access to an online private
communications network. Thus you can meet your neighbors online as well
as at Neighbors' Get-Togethers. Your will be able to see the faces
of your neighbors and they can see your picture. Other neighborhoods
will not be able to see you. So it's very private. However, each safety
team also has an online club and the teams are connected city wide,
making it easy for police and fire to communicate with the teams. The
Organizer in each team can then communicate the information to their
own neighborhoods.
The
TF system is critical to the success of the endeavor, as it is private
and secure. It is a place where neighborhood information is shared and
upcoming safety briefings announced and where the Neighborhood Safety
Team can get familiar with the "faces" in the neighborhood. Educational
materials will be placed on neighborhood sites where all members can
become familiar with all aspects of neighborhood safety. Neighbors can
get to know each other, and with the Gusto™ kids network included, kids
get to know other kids in the neighborhood. From a security point of
view, it is a way to report suspicious activity to the Neighborhood
Safety Team, who can investigate, or call the police as necessary. Even
in a neighborhood where most adults are off working, there are those
neighbors who are retired or work at home, who can do "drive by" if
requested to do so. Knowing who can do what is essential.
In
the system members keep their own contact information up to date. This
is done through the network and allows the Neighborhood Safety Team to
access up to date information at any time without getting bogged down
with administrative duties.
Education
Safety consists of many aspects. It is not simply the passing thief or the gang. It is fire hazards caused by the chemicals stored in your neighbor's garage. It includes child safety: how they get home, who they interact with online, what drugs are being shared at school. It includes education on regional emergency preparedness such as what to do in case of an earthquake, fires or flood.
NSN assists in establishing the online connections to those in emergency services involved in education and to the crime prevention officer for the area. This facilitates updates on current issues to neighborhoods directly. These professionals also offer periodic neighborhood briefings on safety issues. The Neighborhood Safety Team will arrange these and announce them through your Neighborhood Prepared-And-Ready network of online clubs.
Drug use can become a problem for you even if you're not involved. For example, a child with a drug habit, with no money to pay for it, will often resort to theft, including "items" from the neighbors. Thus a drug problem in your neighbor's household can end up being your problem. NSN has established contacts with those that can help get kids off drugs (and also adults off drugs).
To find out more send an email to:
support@neighborhoodsafety.net
© Copyright 2005-2007 All Right Reserved. Neighborhood Safety.Net
Evac-Link and Gusto are trademarks and service marks of TrustedFaces.
Neighborhood Safety Team and City Safety Team are trademarks and service marks of Neighborhood Safety Net.
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