National Preparedness Month Week 5: Participation!

As National Preparedness Month comes to an end, consider getting involved in your community’s readiness. Hopefully you have taken a step or two towards making your household a little more prepared to handle the unexpected. If you could still use a few pointers, check out Weston’s Community Emergency Preparedness & Response Guide. Pick up the booklet at the Council on Aging, Fire Department, Town Hall, or Library, or see the online version at westonma.gov/Prepare.

While it is great for preparedness to start at home, our whole community can benefit from a little assistance from each of us. Depending on your interests, there are a variety of ways to get involved. For instance, those who take the "long view" can join the Sustainable Weston Action Group in reducing the town’s contributions, and vulnerability, to climate change. To get us started, Weston Ahead has created an excellent Climate Action Toolkit for homeowners as a guide to reducing household greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resilience in the face of a changing climate.

Or you may prefer to focus on senior citizens, who tend to be the most vulnerable population when there is an emergency. Preparedness can take many forms, including having an agreement to check on an elderly neighbor after a storm or volunteering to be a certified driver for the Council on Aging.

An easy step is to join the Weston Emergency Reserve Corps, an all-volunteer group of citizens who are willing, but never required, to help out in a community-wide emergency. The WERC is sponsored by the Weston Department of Public Health, but as the Weston Branch of the Medical Reserve Corps it exists as a part of a dynamic network of local, regional, and national organizations dedicated to rapid, safe, and effective crisis response. All are invited to volunteer, medical and non-medical alike, and there is a particular need for people with mental health backgrounds. Members can benefit from a range of training, practicing with Weston’s first responders, and staying informed about local, state, and federal readiness topics. And don’t worry if you haven’t gotten your own house in order yet - the WERC can help you do that too! To find out more, contact the Weston Board of Health, check out westonma.gov/WERC, or come by the WERC information table this Saturday (10/2) at the Weston Fire Department’s Open House in Town Center from 10a-2p.

There are many ways to make a difference. In the words of Edward Everett Hale, “I can’t do everything, but I can do something.” Start with the prevention and preparedness issues that resonate most with you and get involved, whether it means taking action now to help spare future generations from more extreme events or joining with others to make sure that nobody is left out of preparedness plans and considerations, no matter their age. Whatever your passion, it can be applied to increasing our readiness and resilience. Everybody benefits when we all do what we can to make sure our whole community is ready together.