PYN – Prepare Your Neighborhood. This EVCNB (Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay) program was developed for neighbors to help neighbors organize their preparedness in advance of a disaster. PYN provides training and support to interested groups who want to form and develop a neighborhood cluster or organization.
*What is a cluster? EVCNB considers a cluster to be a group of people living close enough to one another to be able to work together in an emergency situation; sharing the responsibilities in response to a disaster. A cluster may include two or more adjoining neighborhoods that organize, train, and share emergency preparedness skills.
There are three basic activities that support neighborhood preparedness:
A Go-Bag with 3-day survival essentials for each individual;
Have a Family Emergency Plan for each individual or household;
Shared the preparedness knowledge and practice the Emergency Plans by everyone in the household: where to go to be safe in the event of a major disaster - from home, from work, or from frequently visited locations; to be safe (no matter what the disaster may be).
*Beyond these basics, the goal is for each cluster to adopt a team approach. Teams identify someone - or ideally - at least two members who help neighbors organize and facilitate meetings to discuss planning.
Other training classes are offered at EVCNB.org including: Building a Go-Bag, using a Yellow Radio for Emergency Communication, WaSH (water, sanitation, and hygiene management), and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training.
