The Water Shed on Wayne Ave. (Photo: Rasheed Z. Ajamu)
The city’s Office of Emergency Management [OEM] is collaborating with the Water Shed to launch their READYCommunity workshop series, which will consist of six interactive meetings dedicated to helping Germantown residents with emergency preparedness.
Whether it’s fire, water, or extreme weather safety, the free six-month program plans to bring families, organizations, and community members closer to the resources and tools necessary to handle hazardous situations.
“There are certain hazards in the city and in Germantown specifically that we want to address,” said the Community Resilience Coordinator of the OEM, Bianca Garcia. “[We’ll discuss] all of the factors of emergency preparedness that people don’t think of, the general preparedness of what to be thinking about, and then going home and making it work with your family.”
Workshops will be on the second Saturday of every month from July 12 to December 13, with specific topics associated with each meeting. Each meeting is held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Water Shed, located at 5300 Wayne Avenue. Registration for any event is available for six months, with no deadlines.
Out of the 18 hazards identified by the OEM that can significantly impact Philadelphia residents, the office views fire, extreme weather, and flooding as the biggest concerns for residents throughout Germantown and other parts of the city, making them the driving focus of the meetings.
The July 12 event will be the Trauma-informed kick-off, where the OEM will partner with the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS) to launch the program. There, attendees can learn about the series schedule, local hazards, and how past experiences can shape readiness, while hearing from guest speakers from the DBHIDS.
August 9 is for family emergency preparedness, where participants will learn about creating a family emergency plan, building go-bags, understanding shelter-in-place procedures, and heat health tips.
Go-bags are pre-packed bags that contain the necessary items for survival during an emergency evacuation.
“It might be a flashlight or a medical [item] so people can take their medication, and I have everything from ice packs to cooling towels if it’s hot. People will leave with supplies to start a go-bag,” said Garcia.
Most of the learning throughout READYCommunity will be hands-on, as Garcia mentioned that “some of it isn’t solidified, but there will be interactive activities and things that people will be able to do at these sessions.”
On September 13, a workshop on severe weather and flooding will be held, discussing occurrences such as thunderstorms, high winds, fallen trees, and damaged power lines. The workshop will also guide participants through the steps of flood readiness and household protection strategies.
According to Garcia, there will likely be an activity that simulates taking action during a flood-based scenario.
Concerning flooding, the idea to hold the workshop series in Germantown was designed with a purpose, as the Water Shed has historically held an initiative that aligns with the work that the OEM does.
“The Watershed’s whole initiative is [to address] the flooding in Germantown,” Garcia said. “There is a footprint of the work already being done; we just wanted to boost that work. Germantown is a neighborhood that OEM has never engaged in, which is why I’m so excited to partner with the Water Shed on this.”
Some parts of Germantown tend to flood heavily due to streets and homes being built over old creeks and sewers that overflow more easily during storms.
On October 11, a session on fire safety and insurance will take place, where the OEM will partner with the Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD) and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) to provide tips on preventing fires in your home, responding quickly to emergencies, and details on insurance coverage.
“We’re going to let people sign up to get the Fire Department to install smoke alarms,” Garcia also added.
The November 8 workshop is winter weather and recovery, where residents will learn how to prepare for extreme cold, winter-related power outages, and snowstorms. That comes ahead of the final event on December 13, which will be the Community Resource Fair.
“[For the resource fair], we’re going to bring in the Water Department and PECO, and we’re going to bring back the DBHIBS, PFD, and PID,” Garcia said. “We’re basically bringing a slew of folks into the Water Shed to grant resources for the community.”
Garcia hopes that all attendees leave the workshops with the proper knowledge, resources, and a vigilant mindset to prepare for various possibilities, as she mentioned that she often hears people say, “It’s not going to be me and it’ll never be me.”
“Even a basic skeletal plan is better than no plan,” she said. “I just want people to be able to walk away with ideas for them to go home and start having a conversation with their family and friends about what happens in the event of [an incident].”
To register for the workshops, visit the READYCommunity Eventbrite.