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On Sunday May 25 approximately 65 Coal Harbour and West End Residents attended a workshop on Emergency Preparedness. Lt. Michael Smith from Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services’ explained what do to do in case of an earthquake. At the Coal Harbour Community Centre Resident learned of the importance of protecting their head in a natural disaster.
photo by Doug Shanks
In a article entitle “Citizens take satety into their own hands” by West Ender reporter Jackie Wong, Randy Helten describes his efforts to facilitate emergency preparedness and to create a well-prepared community.
For for the full story visit the link below:
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WERA made the news three times this week in the community papers.
WERA director Aaron Jasper was quoted in the Courier endorsing City staff's recommendation to freeze the rental “rate of change” policy — in other words to require developers to supply an equal number of market rental units when building new condominiums. The story can be found here.
In the same issue, WERA president Brent Granby was quoted on the City's proposal to wident sidewalks along Davie Street. The story can be found here.
And in the West Ender, Randy Helten was the subject of an article on the emergency preparedness workshop that WERA is holding at the West End Community Centre at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. The article can be found here.
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Randy Helten, WERA member
WESTENDER
May 17 2007
“A West End man hope to educate urbanites on how to act in case disaster strikes.”
As any gambler knows, the crucial strategy in coming up trumps is staying ahead of the game.
That same philosophy can be applied to keeping safe in the event of an emergency — as Randy Helten discovered during 11 years living in the earthquake hot-spot of Tokyo. The 46-year-old translator, who now lives in the West End, has big plans to get his neighbourhood up to speed on being prepared for the worst.
“I think very few people think about disaster, and even fewer take action,” says Helten. “You only had to watch as Hurricane Katrina unfolded in New Orleans. It was hard to believe that this was happening in the 21st century. The level of preparedness was not very good. I want to make sure nothing like that happens in Vancouver.”
WERA’s Emergency Preparedness Program was launched in 2007 to promote preparedness in Vancouver’s downtown peninsula. Its ultimate goal is to create a well-prepared community. We work constructively with all the players at all levels (individual, community, governments) to promote preparedness in all its meanings and to ensure that the community voice gets heard.
Emergencies could come in many sizes and forms (extreme weather, power outage, water crisis, earthquake, fire, food supply disruption, chemical spill, pandemic, terrorist incident, etc.). Preparedness at the individual, building, and neighborhood levels is worthwhile in any type of emergency. Any such efforts are guaranteed to save lives, reduce emotional stress and injuries, and reduce the financial cost of a disaster.
