County Works on Expanding Community Preparedness
Monica Peterson (in red, center) at the Atlanta Earth Festival teaching children about emergency preparedness using the Plinko-type game she made.
Community preparedness is essential to ensuring Hamilton County is ready for emergencies and disasters. It can be hard to know where to start or make time for preparedness. Sure, you can buy some super expensive prepper kits off Amazon, but more importantly, making preparedness a priority will pay dividends when an emergency strikes.
To help Hamilton County focus on community preparedness, Hamilton County Emergency Management has announced Monica Peterson, Community Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator, will move to a new full-time position. She served in a part-time role over the past few years.
She bolstered volunteer programs, created new emergency preparedness workshops, and expanded outreach to kids at special events. “Everything we do in emergency management revolves around community preparedness. With our volunteers’ help, we can participate in various events where we can talk to individuals and families about how they can be prepared,” said Peterson.
To ensure you are ready for an emergency, you can start with a plan for what you will do in an emergency, put together a kit of items you may need, and have multiple ways to receive information, such as the HCEM App and a weather radio.
“Hopefully, the Internet never goes down, or the cell towers lose connectivity, but if they do, having a weather radio, which works for all types of emergencies, will ensure you have the information you need,” said Peterson. The website www.ready.gov has sample plans, checklists for kits, preparedness information for kids, and much more.
“I am incredibly grateful to the support from the County Council for seeing the value in what Monica has done for Hamilton County,” said Shane Booker, Executive Director.
For additional information about preparedness or Emergency Management’s volunteer programs, contact Peterson at monica.peterson@hamiltoncounty.in.gov or call (317) 770-3381.
About Hamilton County Emergency Management:
Hamilton County Emergency Management is a county public safety department tasked with supporting all municipalities through information coordination, resource management, and consequence management. HCEM is Indiana’s largest emergency management program, with seven full-time and two part-time employees and four volunteer programs with nearly 200 active volunteers.