Southland Credit Union became a “partner in preparedness” with a donation intended to assist City of Los Alamitos employees in their response to citizens following a disaster.
Southland Credit Union became a “partner in preparedness” with a donation intended to assist City of Los Alamitos employees in their response to citizens following a disaster.
To control costs and keep emergency preparedness in the spotlight, many other aspects of emergency preparation in the City of Los Alamitos depend on multi-agency collaborations and community partnerships.
Encouraging everyone to get prepared, Southland’s contribution funded Emergency Response Kits, or “Go Kits” for city employees. As public employees, all city staff are designated as Disaster Service Workers. This means they are expected to respond to work and/or may be required to stay at work following a major disaster.
Southland’s contribution provides backpack-style response kits with reporting procedures and essential emergency supplies to facilitate that response. Employees have been directed to augment these kits with the personal supplies which will be necessary to sustain a prolonged emergency work period. Through the distribution of these kits, employees were compelled to renew their commitment to Disaster Service in the community.
Southland is a committed community partner and is consistently working with the city to enhance community events.
“Contributing to the city’s disaster preparedness effort is consistent with the credit union’s commitment of giving back to the communities they serve. Southland recognizes the importance of being properly prepared in the unfortunate event of a natural disaster. The credit union has dedicated significant resources developing our internal disaster preparedness plan, so we welcomed the opportunity to help the city enhance their emergency response plan by funding these Go Kits for city employees,” said Matthew Herrick, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Southland Credit Union will be recognized for their contribution in support of Disaster Preparedness Month at the Los Alamitos City Council Meeting on Monday, September 17, at 6 p.m.
Even though the city has been fortunate to avoid the destruction experienced in other parts of the country, there remains the looming threat of a massive earthquake or other unforeseen event. The City of Los Alamitos continues to make emergency preparedness a priority and implores community members to take an active role in their own preparedness. Even though city staff will respond following a major disaster, it is likely that city resources will be quickly depleted. Community members can prepare for this by planning to be self-sufficient for at least a few days following the event. One Source where someone can learn valuable skills to help yourself and your community following a disaster is CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). The next 24-hour CERT class is scheduled to begin on Friday, September 22. For more information visit westcountycert.com.
It is commonly accepted that the impact of disasters can be mitigated through careful planning and preparation. Community members are encouraged to join these efforts by creating their own emergency supply kit. For more ideas about assembling a kit of for other disaster planning suggestions, visit cityoflosalamitos.org.