DePaul University has become the first Chicago-area institution of higher learning to partner with the Safe America Foundation, a leading national nonprofit organization that is providing major support to the federal government’s National Preparedness Month (NPM) in September. The growing movements are designed to educate Americans on how to better prepare for and respond to various potential disaster scenarios.

“With more than 25,000 students and thousands of full- and part-time faculty and staff, DePaul is one of the largest communities in the Chicago area,” said Ed Gregory, DePaul’s director of business continuity planning for the Office of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety. “Educating our community on basic measures people can take to better prepare for disasters should have strong ripple effects across the larger metropolitan area.”

As part of the campaign, DePaul is raising awareness in the university community about text messaging as a more effective means of communication during emergencies than cell phones or landline telephones, both of which tend to be overwhelmed in times of crisis. DePaul also is encouraging community members to create emergency preparedness plans with loved ones, including plans for where to gather and how to contact family members during an emergency.

The need for better education on emergency preparedness was revealed in a 2009 national survey by the Citizen Corps, a co-sponsor of NPM, which showed that among Americans:

• 43 percent do not have disaster supplies in their homes;
• 50 percent are not familiar with community alerts/warning systems;
• 56 percent do not have a household emergency plan;
• 58 percent were not familiar with community evacuation routes;
• 74 percent have not participated in a workplace shelter-in-place drill (although 42 percent had participated in a workplace evacuation drill);
• 77 percent have not volunteered for community preparedness activities (although 34 percent had volunteered during a crisis in their community); and
• 80 percent have not completed a home evacuation drill.

Among the preparedness activities encouraged are:

• Staging an evacuation drill or conducting a shelter-in-place drill;
• Assembling a disaster preparedness kit;
• Reviewing preparedness actions;
• Participating in a preparedness-related course or workshop or free online training courses through FEMA; and
• Volunteering for a local community emergency response team.

DePaul is also encouraging its community members to refamiliarize themselves with the university’s basic protocols for dealing with various emergency situations. These protocols are detailed at: http://emergencyplan.depaul.edu 

The Safe America campaign is sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Ad Council. The NPM initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and communities. Additional information on how to help your family and community during a national emergency can be found at www.SafeAmericaPrepared.org.

About DePaul

With more than 25,000 students, DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the United States and the largest private, nonprofit university in the Midwest. The university offers approximately 275 graduate and undergraduate programs of study on two Chicago campuses, four suburban campuses and at three international locations. Founded in 1898, DePaul remains committed to providing a quality education through personal attention to students from a wide range of backgrounds. For more information, visit www.depaul.edu.