Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: March 15, 2005 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No.~J.-yt <br />SUBJECT: Approval of Grant Application Submission to Expand RSVP Disaster <br />Preparedness Program for Seniors, Particularly for Vulnerable and Disabled <br />Persons <br />DEPARTMENT: Aging <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Jerry Passmore, ext 2009 <br />Kathy Porter, 968-2054 <br />Vicki Hill, 968-2056 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To approve submission of a Project of National Significance (PNS) grant <br />application by the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of the Department on Aging <br />for $20,000 annually to expand its existing volunteer disaster preparedness program, which <br />aims to empower seniors to better deal with natural disasters through information, training and <br />special projects. <br />BACKGROUND: In 2003, RSVP developed and held a highly successful disaster awareness <br />event attended by over 75 seniors. The education program design came out of a partnership <br />with Emergency Management Services (EMS), Cooperative Extension and local businesses, <br />This special event not only educated seniors, but also showed seniors how to prepare a survival <br />kit to use at home or take with them to a designated emergency shelter, At that time, RSVP <br />became part of the Civilian Corps Council (CCC) developed and housed in EMS to look at ways <br />to partner on disaster preparedness events, especially during the first 72 hours of the event. <br />RSVP maintains its role with CCC, <br />Although this expansion proposal builds on model programs of Orange County RSVP's sister <br />agencies, its overall vision is tailored to Orange County and incorporates health education <br />models for behavior change. The audience is primarily a diverse population of senior citizens, <br />in particular those identified as at risk by demographics, vulnerability or disability, Identification <br />will be supported via Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping along with information <br />from power companies and project partners, <br />