Youth Disaster Preparedness Program through Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H

Ulster County 4-H will offer “My Preparedness Initiative” (MyPI), a four-time national award-winning youth preparedness, leadership and educational outreach. MyPI New York is a component of the National Youth Preparedness Initiative (MyPI National), a partnership of 37 states and 3 US territories, delivering an innovative, engaging, and comprehensive curriculum for teenagers that will enable profound impact on emergency preparedness for households and communities in addition to youth leadership characteristics across the nation.

In the program, teenagers will complete the United States Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency-certified CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training and corresponding modules focusing on Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety and Utility Control, Disaster Medical Operations, Light Search and Rescue, CERT Organization, Disaster Psychology, and Terrorism and CERT as well as all Hazard-related Annexes. They will also receive certification in CPR and AED usage, along with a technology track comprising awareness programs focusing on HAM radio, NOAA weather radio, smoke alarm maintenance, and smartphone apps and social media in emergency preparedness. Finally, the curriculum includes a school safety component, a disaster simulation, an extreme weather program, a public health awareness and risk mitigation program, an extreme bleeding component, and a career track that focuses on public safety, fire service, and emergency management careers.

The pivotal takeaway from the program is a comprehensive family and community service project entitled “Prep + 6” in which each participant helps develop emergency supply kits and emergency communication plans for their household AND 6 additional households.

This program will be offered to all Ulster County youth ages 13+. A shorter preparedness course, Ready in the Middle, will also be offered for those ages 9-12. Meetings will take place, 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month, Jan. 17-Nov. 20, at CCE Ulster’s Kingston office, 232 Plaza Road, Kingston. Registration will be available via the Ulster County 4-H website, https://ulster.cce.cornell.edu/4-h-youth-development.