Alma Park Neighbors Emergency Response Plan
A number of neighbors have been working on creating a community emergency response plan for the past year. The Alma Park Neighbors emergency response plan is designed to help our community respond to a disaster. The plan was shared with the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council's (CSPNC) Emergency Preparedness and Public Safety (EPPS) committee on September 2, 2021.
Our neighbors would like support from the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council (CSPNC) to help partially fund required emergency kits. These kits are vital to effective emergency response. Details of our preliminary presentation to the EPPS committee can be found below.
The Alma Park Neighbors' emergency response plan presentation
Hello and good evening, everyone. Thank you all for being here and for your interest in emergency preparedness. Also, thank you for the opportunity to present to you tonight.
My name is Chris OConnell, and I am the Treasurer and Secretary for the Alma Park Area Neighborhood Watch (APANW). The APANW is a large neighborhood watch consisting of 52 blocks. We estimate that our boundaries contain 1,500 residential homes and potentially 2,500 to 3,000 people. Our Facebook group has about 450 members and is very active. We also have a mailing list of around 200 people. These two communication mechanisms allow for clear and transparent communications amongst neighbors.
Objectives and background of presentation
The objectives of tonight’s presentation are as follows:
To share with you what we’ve been working on in regards to an emergency response program.
To get your feedback on how to make a successful proposal that the neighborhood council will approve so we can move forward with our emergency response plan.
But first, let me provide you a little background so that everyone is on the same page. Last year the EPPS tasked the APANW with creating a prototype for an emergency response plan. The EPPS reported this project at a CSPNC stakeholders meeting, and no objections to the pilot program were voiced.
As a result of this assignment, we developed a plan that can be templatized and easily replicated so all communities with the CSPNC can have their own emergency response plan.
One of the many benefits of having a template plan is to allow neighborhoods to have a staggered implementation. In other words, neighborhoods can use our template to deploy a customized version of the plan on their own timeline.
Our team of volunteers has worked tirelessly on evenings and weekends to develop a comprehensive plan in response to a disaster or catastrophe affecting the neighborhoods in San Pedro.
Alma Community Emergency Squad (ACES)
Part of the Alma Park Neighbors' emergency response plan involves having partnered with the Community Disaster Preparedness Foundation. This foundation runs the Neighborhood Teams Program (NTP), which provides monthly training to the Alma Community Emergency Squad, known as ACES. For more information about our ACES program, please visit the web page here. In the event of a major disaster, ACES will set up staging areas and dispatch incident response teams. Teams will communicate by radio, sharing reports of damage and injuries with the staging area. Reports will be prioritized by the staging area and relayed to emergency responders. ACES can also provide some basic services such as shutting off gas and elementary first aid.
At the end of the six-session ACES training program, the Foundation will help us organize an emergency response drill. Similar drills have already taken place around Los Angeles. ACES members have been key participants in those drills.
An emergency response drill was held in West Adams in late July of 2021. City and state officials were in attendance so that they could see the plan in action. The West Adams Neighborhood Council funded the required supplies for emergency response in that community. These supplies compose a kit that includes a secured storage bin, medical and record-keeping supplies, and radios.
Emergency response kits needed!
ACES would like the CSPNC’s help procuring the emergency response kits so that our team can be prepared for an emergency. Kits that are secure and easy to access are a vital element to support and carry out a successful operation. We plan to request funding for two of these kits, which are required for effective emergency response.
Our plan is to create a proposal for further consideration. We have some questions for you, but first:
Do you have any questions about the Alma Park Neighbors' emergency response plan so far?
Questions about the emergency response plan
One committee member noted that a neighborhood fundraising approach might be useful. He proposed that many neighbors would be glad to contribute to a safety-related cause.
One neighborhood council member shared concerns about the line-item cost for the standardized response kits. She proposed that each item should be assessed and more affordable options should be found before funds were disbursed. This member asked for a three-year plan and pricing to roll out the program to all neighborhoods within the CSPNC.
No prices were provided during the presentation. Any discussion about line item prices were based on estimates on unofficial numbers.
These kits are deployed across Los Angeles, and there is a benefit to the standardization. The kits have been thoroughly tested and vetted. Attempting to find more affordable options on each item in the kit could slow the rollout of the program and degrade the quality of the response.
A three-year plan for the entire CSPNC area is out of scope for what the APANW is working on. Our goal is to create a pilot prototype so neighborhoods can enroll as time and funding permits. The neighborhood council can fund additional neighborhoods after our pilot is proven successful if they choose to do so.
One member mentioned searching for available grants to help fund the program. The member's suggestion did not make clear if the grants would be used to fund the pilot ACES program.
Two neighborhood council members suggested the price of the kits was not overly high. One member stated that emergency preparation is related to safety. She then stated that safety initiatives were not a time to be cheap.
What's next?
The ACES training program will conclude in November of 2021. The group's first community emergency response drill will take place sometime in November, December, or January. We would like to have our emergency kit installed in time for the drill so we can simulate a real response to an emergency.
The APANW will continue to work with the EPPS in an effort to find funding for the kits. In addition, we will ask for donations from our community members and look for corporate sponsors.
Please help us prepare for an emergency!
Please consider a small donation so that we can procure our emergency response kits. Donations can be made via So please click here. We are also happy to take cash and checks, so let. us know if you would like us to meet you.
Also, please share this news with your neighbors and let them know what we are working on. If you know any members of the Neighborhood Council please express your support for this important community safety initiative with them.
If you have any questions about the Alma Park Neighbors' emergency response plan or would like to get involved, please reach out to us so that we can talk about the plan.
Get connected
If you live in the Alma Park area, please consider joining your neighbors at https://www.facebook.com/groups/apanw
