BP's Scott James Stresses Key Role of Neighborhoods in Community Emergency Prep.

Oct 30

Neighborhood Prep Video Is your neighborhood prepared for an emergency? Mid-fall, after wildfire season and before winter storms hit, is a good time to assess your neighborhood's readiness, and a key part of preparing is learning how. As part of a three days of preparedness online event called BRACE, Building Readiness for Action in Crisis and Emergencies, Bainbridge Prepares' Scott James addressed the topic on video.One of the points James emphasized is that the organizational model of Bainbridge Prepares, which he describes in the video, "doesn't work unless we have a strong neighborhood program." At the foundation of that program is Map Your Neighborhood, a strategic approach to preparedness developed in Washington State by Dr. Luanne Johnson. James stressed that the approach is about "group resilience and not the myth of solo survivalism."James describes what he calls the 90-Minute Challenge, a means of kickstarting your neighborhood's prep. Want to learn how to get your neighborhood ready? Watch James's video here:Islander James is the founder of Bainbridge Prepares and the author of Prepared Neighborhoods, a book that he describes as filling the gap between a host of books on personal preparedness and books on government preparedness. The place in the middle, where the individual and the community work together, is the area of greatest interest to James, who was awarded a Governor's Award of Excellence in the State of Washington for the nonprofit work he has done at the community level. He has also spoken at FEMA's national training symposium, and his films have been shown at the United Nations Climate Change Summit and on Netflix.The video of James, which was posted on Your Tube on October 6, was introduced by Megan Hudson of the Department of Navy. BRACE is a project managed by the Seattle Federal Executive Board. A 1961 presidential directive established Federal Executive Boards to facilitate collaboration and communication among federal agencies across the nation.