"View yourself as capable not powerless in these unsafe times – capable of being your best defense when it comes to safety and security for you and your family… by being vigilant, being prepared, taking protective measures, and pre-planning your own emergency response plans, you can be empowered to protect your family and ultimately make our nation a safer place."

Purpose: to answer the question being asked by everyone in the face of terrorism:

"What Can I Do?"

The chosen acronym for the new initiative says it all: Be 'S.A.F.E.R.' - Strategic Actions For Emergency Response

A proven, "packaged" 2-hour community-based training tool that gets citizens focused on terrorism awareness, Be 'S.A.F.E.R.' is unique in concept and delivery!

This simple, easy-to-teach program (relevant to terrorism, as well as natural disasters.)

1. humanizes heretofore clinical Disaster/Emergency preparedness information & supplies FEMA-based check-lists (.pdf file - requires Adobe Acrobat Reader),

2. brings the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) (.pdf file) colors into the 'home' with a simple check-list of suggested measures,

3. invites family participation,

4. deals with lessening fear,

5. promotes community policing principles for 'disaster prevention' through being 'VIGILANT', informed, and communicating with local law enforcement agencies,

6. provides a 12-stop booklet on how to organize a Neighborhood Disaster/Emergency Action Group, complete with job descriptions & 'before, during, and after' tasks so as not to have to reinvent the wheel,

7. encourages community volunteerism in Citizen Corps Councils, CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams), Neighborhood Watch, Medical Reserve Corps, Volunteers In Policing Service (VIPS), USA Freedom Corps, etc.,

8. and engenders patriotism.

The Be 'S.A.F.E.R.' Program involves

1. Instructor Training Class - to train Instructors (from Law Enforcement and Public Safety Departments, Educational Institutions, Citizen Corps Councils, etc.) to facilitate the 2-hour community service program for men and women (length of program determined by the individual agency and/or as dictated by the length of the Q&A period.)

2. The 2-hour class facilitated as a community service for the citizens of our communities, various organizations (i.e., neighborhood, civic, faith-based, corporate.)

Be 'S.A.F.E.R' key elements include

1. a dynamic video presentation narrated by Emmy-award winning actress Sharon Gless,

2. the in-depth, printed brochure (to take home) which builds on the video presentation -- providing guidance on how to develop their family’s own Disaster/Emergency Plans along with the what to do before-during-& after information that everyone should know,

3. a 12-page folder providing 12 steps to creating a Neighborhood Disaster/Emergency Plan (incorporating Neighborhood Watch techniques) along with job-descriptions/duties as relative to each neighbor who volunteers to participate) -- offered as an option to any attendee who wants to take the initiative and start such a neighborhood group and

4. a 100 page Instructor Development Manual created to provide instructors with a toolkit for answering the multitude of questions the people in their community might ask.