Wednesday, October 3, 2018

NAACP RELEASES TOOLKIT–“IN THE EYE OF THE STORM: A PEOPLE’S GUIDE TO TRANSFORMING CRISIS AND ADVANCING EQUITY IN THE DISASTER CONTINUUM” SEPTEMBER 26, 2018





NAACP RELEASES TOOLKIT–“IN THE EYE OF THE STORM: A PEOPLE’S GUIDE TO TRANSFORMING CRISIS AND ADVANCING EQUITY IN THE DISASTER CONTINUUM” 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       Media contact: Malik Russell    mrussell@naacpnet.org 
BALTIMORE (September 26, 2018)–Today, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announces the release of In the Eye of the Storm: A People’s Guide to Transforming Crisis and Advancing Equity in the Disaster Continuum Toolkit.  The “eye” refers to how some communities, due to pre-existing vulnerabilities, find themselves more in the crosshairs than others. And it also refers to the need for watchful vigilance as we document and take action on inequities.  This 190-page manual prepares frontline communities to be first responders in disasters as well as to serve as monitors for equity in disaster response, and to advance an equitable disaster policy platform.  
NAACP believes the key to adequate and equitable disaster preparedness and recovery is training and planning,” said Katherine T. Egland, Chair, National Board of Directors Environmental and Climate Justice Committee. “This toolkit provides guidance on taking action to ensure that each phase of the disaster continuum–from mitigation to preparedness to response, relief, recovery, and redevelopment–is rooted in human and civil rights.”
Recognizing the inequities along the entire disaster continuum, from differential protective levee fortification, to who gets served first in the disaster aftermath, to the ICE raids that have happened in post-disaster contexts, to gentrification and displacement that can result from disaster capitalism, the NAACP sees disaster justice as a core focus in our civil rights agenda,”said Jacqui Patterson, Senior Director, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program. “Components of the In the Eye of the Storm Toolkit include: Disaster Policy and Governance Framework, How to Start a Community Emergency Response Team, Hosting a Community Visioning Session, Establishing a Community Advisory Board, Civil and Human Rights In Emergency Management Monitoring Tool, Partnership Matrix of What Agencies/ Organizations Do What in Disasters, Disaster Management Resource List, and more.”
“In January, the NAACP Florida State Conference made sure that 28 of our units were trained as Community Emergency Response Teams under FEMA.  We then issued a challenge for all the NAACP State Conferences to follow in our footsteps,” said Adora Obi Nweze, President NAACP Florida State Conference and Chair, NAACP Emergency Management Taskforce.  With the release of this toolkit that provides guidance on setting up a CERT, we re-issue the challenge! Katrina, Maria, Irma, and now Florence, as well as the wildfires out west and the tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest….all of these disasters and the impacts on our communities,  tell us in no uncertain terms that we have to be prepared! We implore you to please join us in taking advantage of this toolkit to get geared up and start your state and local NAACP Community Emergency Response Teams, before disaster finds itself at your doorstep.”
The In the Eye of the Storm: A People’s Guide to Transforming Crisis and Advancing Equity in the Disaster Continuum Toolkit can be downloaded from the NAACP website by clicking HERE

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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas here



Black Emergency Managers Association
           International
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097 
bEMA International 
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“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” ¯   David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and  Partnering (C5&P)             A 501 (c) 3 organization.

Monday, October 1, 2018

Workshops..California. Resources for Food Assistance

Resources for Food Assistance


CalFresh Workshops and Other Resources
If you are in need of economic, food or housing support, you can find help at basicneeds.berkeley.edu. You may be eligible for money to buy groceries via calfresh.berkeley.edu or our Food Assistance Program. If you are in need of food immediately, please visit our UC Berkeley Food Pantry at pantry.berkeley.edu/.

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Puerto Rico, USVI, Dominica, and other small nations globally is it the same?



‘Inept’ Puerto Rican government ‘riddled with corruption’: CEO








Jorge Rodriguez, 49, is the Harvard-educated CEO of PACIV, an international engineering firm based in Puerto Rico that works with the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. The Puerto Rican-born engineer says he has dispatched 50 engineers to help FEMA rehabilitate the devastated island — a commonwealth of the United States — after Hurricane Maria. He refuses to work with the local government, which he called inept and riddled with corruption.

For the last 30 years, the Puerto Rican government has been completely inept at handling regular societal needs, so I just don’t see it functioning in a crisis like this one. Even before the hurricane hit, water and power systems were already broken. And our $118 billion debt crisis is a result of government corruption and mismanagement.

The governor Ricardo Rossello has little experience. He’s 36 and never really held a job and never dealt with a budget. His entire administration is totally inexperienced and they have no clue how to handle a crisis of this magnitude.

For instance, shortly after the hurricane hit, the government imposed a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am and then changed it. Now, it’s 7 pm to 5 am, and makes no sense. The curfew has prevented fuel trucks from transporting their loads. These trucks should have been allowed to run for 24 hours to address our needs, but they have been stalled, and so we have massive lines at gas stations and severe shortages of diesel at our hospitals and supermarkets.
I’m really tired of Puerto Rican government officials blaming the federal government for their woes and for not acting fast enough to help people on the island. Last week I had three federal agents in my office and I was so embarrassed; I went out of my way to apologize to them for the attitude of my government and what they have been saying about the US response. When the hurricane hit we had experts from FEMA from all over the US on the ground and I was really proud of their quick response. The first responders and FEMA have all been outstanding in this crisis, and should be supported.
I have 50 engineers that I have sent out pro bono to help local companies get back on their feet. This includes getting people gasoline and cash, and helping them connect to others that can assist with repairs without delays.
I won’t allow my people to work with the local government.
I have a message for the U.S. Congress: Watch out what relief funds you approve and let our local government handle. Don’t let the Puerto Rican government play the victim and fool you. They have no clue what they are doing, and I worry that they will mishandle anything that comes their way.
They don’t need another aircraft carrier. They need experienced people to run a proper disaster command center.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Press Release. Fighting for the Gullah/Geechee Environment Globally. 9/23/2018

Give to the Gullah\Geechee Nation:  
In February of 2018, in one month over $1-billion dollars of revenue were generated for one movie that portrayed fiction that became a call to action for many.  
The Gullah\Geechee Nation is our reality.
To our art, business, music, Hip Hop community, sports, and other professional individuals and organizations.
Give to reality,
Give to the need,
Give to the survival of our culture and heritage.
Give to the Gullah\Geechee Nation our culture and heritage.

                                                                               CDS.  CEO BEMA International



***PRESS RELEASE***

CONTACT:    Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition    GullGeeCo@aol.com    (843)838-1171

Fighting for the Gullah/Geechee Environment Globally



(23 September 2018, St. Helena Island, SC, Gullah/Geechee Nation) Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) initiated the "Save the Sea Islands" annual tour over  two decades ago.  In that period of time, she has taken the Gullah/Geechee story to national and international platforms including numerous United Nations events, UNESCO, and most recently to the Global Climate Action Summit.   During the latter, she received a standing ovation for delivering this riveting presentation about climate action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ZLI8kpD_I&t=52s

Queen Quet delivered the keynote address for the "Rise for Jobs, Climate, and Justice Rally" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD-LHMp5k0s&t=3s) in Columbia, SC before she departed to be with world leaders at the Global Climate Action Summit.   She returned with the intention of bringing the global message of how to work to protect the Carolina environment against climate change back to that city as well.   However, the Carolinas Resilience Conference at which she is schedule to lead a session had to be postponed due to Hurricane Florence.  Queen Quet then used that time to lead her organization, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition in coordinating storm recovery and emergency management efforts for the Gullah/Geechee Nation.  Her knowledge of environmental issues and links with national and global partners including the Black Emergency Managers Association International immediately led to a people coming together to gather resources for and to get assistance to coastal areas in a more equitable fashion than is normally the case in times of crisis.  She will be leading additional emergency preparedness trainings throughout the Gullah/Geechee Nation as part of the recovery efforts for those effected by the hurricane and subsequent flooding and for the rest of the Nation due to the fact that the hurricane season has not ended. Thousands of people are supporting this initiative via https://www.gofundme.com/GullahGeecheeStorm and https://secure.actblue.com/donate/schurricanerelief .

Queen Quet is well aware that storms are only compounding the erosion of the Sea Islands and the coast which is happening due to sea level rise and other impacts of climate change.  How to mitigate and reverse this harm is some of the information that she is presenting in her lectures and workshops during the "Save the Sea Islands World Tour."  The work of the tour is part of the commitment that has been made by the Gullah/Geechee Nation to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Queen Quet will deliver a keynote address at the University of Florida's Chemistry Lab C130 in Gainsville at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 which is free and open to the public.   This histo-musical presentation and interactive dialogue will address how to maintain and sustain cultural heritage in the midst of environmental issues, injustice, and attempted displacement.  The Gullah/Geechee have been faced with all of these issues repeatedly and have managed to continue their existence on the Sea Islands from Jacksonville, NC to Jacksonville, FL.   The audience will be able to not only hear of their success story, but will learn how to respectfully engage with the community and support their efforts to protect their homeland.

After the engagement in Florida, Queen Quet will host an event on historic St. Helena Island, SC to enlighten the Gullah/Geechee community about the toxins caused by environmental dangers including oil drilling (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/toxic-chemicals-and-oil-exploration-in-the-gullahgeechee-nation-discussion-tickets-49396723931?aff=ebapi).   She will then depart once again for the United Nations.   Those that want to support her UN journey which will include three more events during 2018 can contribute to that aspect of the "Gullah/Geechee Save the Sea Islands Tour" via this GoFundMe campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/gullahgeechee-queen-quet-goes-toun

Queen Quet says, "Hunnuh mus tek cyare de root fa heal de tree.  Ef hunnuh wan git de tools fa disya, cum fa yeddi de Gullah/Geechee."   Come out and hear the Gullah/Geechee wisdom that she will share.

Webe Gullah/Geechee Anointed Peepol!
Lun mo bout who webe


Volunteers Needed. BEMA Int. Liaison in HQ ARC Disaster Operations Coordination Center

Immediate need for volunteers to represent BEMA International within the HQ American Red Cross (ARC) Disaster Operations Coordination Center (DOCC) as the BEMA Liaison.

Ideal for undergraduate or graduate level college\university students in homeland security & emergency management curricula.

Volunteers would be activated as ARC DOCC is activated.  Possible 24/7 access to their facilities will be provided.

Please contact me directly if interested for basic requirements and understanding of emergency operations center, and knowledge of ARC.

Charles

Charles D. Sharp
Chief Executive Officer
Black Emergency Managers Association 
          International
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097 
bEMA International 
     









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