FEMA Program To Assist Socially And Economically Disadvantaged
Release Date: May 4, 2005
Release Number: HQ-05-088
WASHINGTON D.C. -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, has announced a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awareness and preparedness program to assist socially and economically disadvantaged households and communities.
Called the Emergency Preparedness Demonstration Program, this effort will be conducted through a $1.5 million grant awarded to a North Carolina cooperative partnership between MDC, Inc. and the University of North Carolina’s Center for Urban and Regional Studies, both in Chapel Hill. The two-year long program will alert residents to the hazards of natural, technological and man-made disasters and communicate what they can do to protect themselves and to achieve more effective preparedness.
“The project will address disasters on several fronts and help to make people aware of what they can do to be better prepared the next time disasters strike,” said Brown. “We’re convinced the Emergency Preparedness Demonstration Program will address a long-standing challenge – focusing millions of U.S. citizens’ attention on emergency preparedness and what they can do right in their communities to be better prepared.”
The program will conduct extensive research on disaster awareness; develop culturally sensitive information and education materials; provide technical assistance and document all the successes.”
The program will initially be carried out in six states – Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia - all of which received major presidential disaster declarations as a result of damages inflicted by 2003’s Hurricane Isabel.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 04-May-2005 13:52:01