I feel like I want to SCREAM in frustration so this vent might end up being very long!
On Monday, Martin Luther King Day, I participated with a group of CERT members, the American Red Cross, and Ham Radio Operators, for a Day of Service, helping to disseminate information to nearby residents, in a neighboring city (not mine), about emergency preparedness. When I got back home, I sent an e-mail to the president of the home owners association, the chair of sector advisory coalition, and part of the safety and security committee to discuss the following concerns that came to mind while I was reading over, and quoting from, a copy of the flyer that I was distributing around this other neighborhood some miles away from home:
Neighborhood Watch....I've been trying to organize more residents to assist with either Static Watch or Mobile Patrol because there has been a series of car break-ins as well as break-ins at the main building where we have a fitness room and swimming pool available to residents. There are also numerous gangs nearby and some members of one of those gangs attacked and murdered a student at a nearby high school. All I've gotten in response is apathy and more apathy. Yet, when something new happens, these same apathetic people B*TCH about WHY DOESN'T SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING! (HELLO, folks! I can't do this ALONE!!!! We need teamwork, PLEASE!)
Emergency Preparedness.....quoting from the flyer: "Although they seldom occur, our area is not immune to natural or man-made disasters. We may need to be self-sufficient for a period of 72 hours or more before city, county, or state authorities might be able to respond to our needs."
Where I live, the Emergency Preparedness and Operations Plan that is ON PAPER has NOT been updated for TEN YEARS and has NEVER been tested with any kind of practice drill to see if what is on paper actually works in real life! (What is hypothetical or theoretical, mentally, does NOT always translate well into actual practice. Am I making sense?) To add to the frustration, the Plan does NOT mention any involvement with CERT at all. My community has experienced hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and earthquakes and, as a result, my particular development has been ISOLATED during these crises. Unfortunately, there are people in my community that do NOT have a clue of what and what NOT to do during an emergency and, what's worse, REFUSE to do even the BASIC preparations such as having a supply of non-perishable food in the house in case we lose electricity and/or natural gas, again, which would result in being unable to use the refrigerator, stove, and/or microwave. Their excuse? "The police and fire department will take care of us." What we have experienced has taught them NOTHING!
I've also discussed the Community Emergency Response Team several times and feel like I've done nothing except talk to "blank walls". I am the ONLY CERT member where I live and trying to respond to emergencies involving about 300 residences is too overwhelming. No one else in my community seems to "GET" that! Their attitude is: "Let someone else do it. I don't want to be bothered"....until another crisis happens and then the sh*t hits the fan!
I stated that I may be a lone voice crying in the wilderness and, at the same time, "playing ostrich" is NOT going to help us when the next emergency occurs; whether it is another hurricane, tornado, blizzard, earthquake, etc. I also commented that I know that it is a LOT of "preaching on my soapbox" and, at the same time, I feel that these issues need to be discussed and acted upon. I repeated to them that I CANNOT DO IT ALONE! I asked these people...if this nearby city, that is only a few miles away. can accomplish all this, WHY CAN'T WE?
The response I got: "You'll be the perfect person to head up this project!"
I DON'T WANT TO BE THE PERFECT PERSON TO HEAD UP THIS PROJECT!!!! Why? BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WANTS TO BE BOTHERED AND I END UP ALONE AGAIN AND THIS IS TOO OVERWHELMING FOR ONE PERSON!!!!
They just DON'T GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Banging head on desk!*
