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INITIAL MEETINGS <br />Creating a Citizen Corps Council or asking an <br />existing organizing group to expand their mission <br />and take on this responsibility is an easy first step to <br />making Citizen Corps an active part of your <br />community. You may want to hold one or more <br />brainstorming sessions, where council members can <br />collectively identify goals for your community and <br />develop a better understanding of the risks your <br />community faces. Topics that the Citizen Corps <br />Council might address can include: <br /> <br /> · Educating council members on the roles, respon- <br />sibilities, and practices of the first responders, volun- <br />teer organizations, and any existing neighborhood <br />organizational structure in the community; <br /> <br /> ~g Identifying the existing activities and resources within <br />your commtmity that support Citizen Corps principles; <br /> <br /> · Identifying volunteer groups and opportunities <br />within your community that could assist in reducing risk <br />or that could supplement resources in an emergency; <br /> <br /> ~ Creating a menu of volunteer opportunities in <br />which community residents could easily participate or <br />partnering with the local Volunteer Center, if you <br />have one, to design volunteer recruitment strategies; <br /> <br /> ~ Assessing resources within your community that <br />could be drawn on to support volunteerism and pub- <br />lic education in your community; <br /> <br /> ~g Identifying possible resources to support Citizen <br />Corps, including local private sector support and contri- <br />butions from foundations and non-profit organizations; <br /> <br /> $: Discussing opportunities to build public aware- <br />ness and to educate the community about Citizen <br />Corps opportunities within your community; and <br /> <br /> · Developing a wish list of additional resources <br />that your community might need to support a com- <br />prehensive Citizen Corps effort. <br /> <br />DEVELOPING A CITIZEN CORPS <br />ACTION PLAN <br />As you begin to assess your needs and resources, you <br />should work toward developing a clear mission <br />statement and an action plan. Your Citizen Corps <br />Council action plan could include short and long-term <br /> <br />goals, a community communication system for <br />emergency warn/ngs, and a community mobilization plan <br />with a specific plan outlining how to meet these goals. <br /> <br />Short-term goals could include having working <br />smoke alarms and emergency kits in every household <br />by the time school starts again in the fall, having <br />each business in the community practice their <br />evacuation plans within a month, training all senior <br />high school students in cardiopulmonary <br />resuscitation (CPR), or having Neighborhood Watch <br />groups in all neighborhoods of the community. You <br />may also want to target specific groups within your <br />community, such as people living in high-risk areas, <br />the youth population, and Americans with disabilities <br />or disadvantaged populations. <br /> <br />It will be important for you to set meaningful, <br />attainable goals, to make them public, to meet them, <br />and then to recognize and celebrate your success. <br /> <br />LINKING LOCAL ACTIVITIES WITH <br />THE NATIONAL EFFORT <br />It will also be important for you to link local activities <br />to the national effort. Although you may have an <br />existing organization take on this responsibility and <br />not create a new Citizen Corps Council, it is critical <br />that all activities at the local level that encompass <br />citizen participation in emergency preparedness, <br />response capability training, crime prevention, and <br />skill-based volunteer programs related to community <br />safety be identified with Citizen Corps. <br /> <br />A great way to get started is to have a public event to <br />recognize the activities that volunteers, first <br />responders, and residents in your community are <br />already doing that relate to Citizen Corps. Explain <br />that there is a new national initiative to link all these <br />activities and to introduce other activities to promote <br />personal and community safety. Make a commitment <br />to help each resident in the community participate in <br />Citizen Corps. Citizen participation can include: <br /> <br /> · Becoming better prepared and taking measures <br />to reduce risk within their home, such as putting <br />together a family emergency preparedness plan and <br />kit, installing smoke detectors or elevating electrical <br /> <br /> <br />