The Town of North Hempstead and Adelphi University have continued expanding their disaster preparedness initiative, handing out guides to hundreds of people in Spanish, Korean, Mandarin and Vietnamese.
According to project managers, nearly 1,700 safety brochures in several different languages have been given since late last year. The project first targeted every single nail salon in the Town of North Hempstead, before expanding to restaurants and other businesses.
“This initiative has reached out to a vulnerable segment of our population and helped to make them safer,” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said. “Ensuring that everyone is prepared in the event of an emergency is critical to the health and safety of those who live and work in the Town.”
Meghan McPherson, the assistant director of the Center for Health Innovation at Adelphi University, and a team of staff members and students, personally visited more than 100 restaurants to distribute packets. They have also reached out to all 482 service-based businesses within the town, McPherson said, including the ones inside the villages.
“I don’t ask for a response. That’s the thing, because I don’t want there to be any worry,” McPherson said. “I purely just want people to have their families be safer and for their families to feel safer.”
McPherson said that the effort aims to help individuals who might speak English as a second language be safe in emergencies.
Context can be lost when hearing or reading warnings not in their main language, she noted, and it’s important for everyone to be prepared.
“It’s about empowering individuals by giving them the information to prepare themselves and their families for emergency situations or disasters,” McPherson said.
Once the brochures reach someone, the impact can be “exponential” because they tend to be passed around, McPherson added.
The brochure includes a public service announcement in several languages, presents the option to call 311 in their native language, and notes the Town’s translation services.
It also has a FEMA document, which lists a library of items someone should have, and recommended items in a preparedness kit like a gallon of water per family member, flashlights, extra batteries, and a three-day supply of food.
Additionally, McPherson said that it offers brightly colored cards and sheets to allow someone to write down important names, contact information and emergency numbers because usually these items are saved on cell phones – which might die during a disaster.
More emergency preparedness information can be found at the Town of North Hempstead’s emergency management page.
