Citizen Corps Councils

Southern Arizona Citizen Corps: Leading the way in bioterror planning

Overview
In the days following September 11, Beth Walkup, wife of Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, began pondering how the city could prepare for natural and man-made disasters. Around that time, the same question had occurred to Dr. Dennis Embry, a developmental psychologist in Tucson. Ms. Walkup and Dr. Embry joined forces to rally community leaders to create a system for disaster mitigation on September 30, 2001.

The organizers gave their endeavor the name of Operation Safe Tucson and elected Christine Harvey their chairman and created its mission statement: “To ensure that the southern Arizona region is safe and prepared for emergencies and disasters, including terrorism, that broadly affect our community, by engaging citizens in prevention and response, working in partnerships with agencies.”

Under Ms. Harvey’s leadership, the group soon expanded from 20 to 900. Next steps included inviting everyone in the community to attend an informational event at the Tucson Community Center. Before 2001 came to a close, 30 general and task force meetings between citizens and government officials had vaulted the initiative that put Tucson well ahead of the national curve in framing the city's readiness for emergencies.

Council Background
In April 2002, President Bush invited Tucson’s Mayor, Bob Walkup, to meet in Knoxville, Tennessee with 14 other mayors and county executives to report on the group’s successes. This select group of city officials exemplified the leadership necessary to drive disaster preparedness. Mayor Walkup’s inclusion in this meeting came as no surprise to the citizens of Tucson: that same month, Operation Safe Tucson became one of the first 40 Citizen Corps Councils in the Nation, taking the name Tucson Citizen Corps Council.

Soon Tucson’s neighbors in Pima County and nearby Cochise and Santa Cruz Counties realized they had a stake in the enterprise, too. By joining hands in a widening circle of calm determination to protect their homes, their neighbors, and their lives, the citizens of these three counties created the non-profit agency Citizen Corps Council for Homeland Security of Southern Arizona.

In November 2002, Tucson conducted a three-day biological disaster preparedness drill. The rehearsal included a scene in which two men barged into a banquet room and released a white powder from their fire extinguishers on the guests. The mock attack proceeded to a diagnosis of anthrax and the delivery and administration of an antidote for the anthrax.

The exercise resulted in the delivery of placebo antibiotics to 2,000 people by the end of the day. This exercise was made possible because the Citizen Corps Council for Homeland Security of Southern Arizona recruited 200 local pharmacists and other medical professionals to take part in a rehearsal of mass immunization as part of the CDC’s National Pharmaceutical Stockpile distribution. While the planners deemed their plans in need of fine-tuning, one thing was clear after the drill was over: Tucson is out in front of the Nation on bioterrorism preparedness.

Strategy
A principle element of the Council’s strategy has been to spread the word about citizen preparedness and to implement the Citizen Corps programs. The Council’s preparedness efforts have accomplished more in two years more than anyone could have anticipated.

The committee formed to address terrorism and natural disasters spared no time before turning the essence of the massive school emergency manual into a one-page, four quadrant poster hung in more than 8,000 classrooms that outlines instructions for school personnel to ensure the safety of all students, an idea that other cities and agencies have adopted. Operating as a Council with zero budget, members gained financial support for the posters from the Pima County Office of Emergency Management. The Council is also worked to provide 72-hour “to go kits” to all teachers, filled with supplies to safely bring a class through the first days of an emergency.

The Council also excelled in implementing a Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, as well as several mini-programs to advance community preparedness, emphasizing effective use of electronic information dissemination.

The Council also focused on the importance of recognizing citizen contributions and issued several awards to citizens throughout the Council’s jurisdiction. Conversely, the Council also received recognition for their efforts. In the summer of 2003, the Tucson Red Cross named the Council the winner of one of the 2003 Heroes Awards. The Council, which was the only agency to win such an award, was cited for its efforts to make Tucson “one of the most well-prepared communities in the country.”

Council Results
In 2003, the Citizen Corps Council for Homeland Security of Southern Arizona made tremendous progress. Accomplishments include:

326 residents in the three-county area took CERT training, a number that would be out of reach had not 63 of their neighbors gone through the “Train-the-Trainer” course. A total of 900 southern Arizonans have signed up for the CERT training program.
A Vaccination Strike Team was created with a crew of 50 nurses working in Pima County Health Department immunization clinics in the event of a biological attack or mass disease outbreak. Taking its cue from the President’s call to make smallpox vaccination readily available, the Council recruited physicians and other health professionals to take part in any future smallpox immunization campaigns.
Implementation of a pilot preparedness training program with a Tucson City Councilperson, which included the creation of a promotional video on Citizen Corps Council; Council participation as an expert on a Multi-Housing Association panel discussing “Renting to Possible Terrorists;” and hosting Community Preparedness Day.
The Council accepted an offer by the Latino television network Telemundo to pilot a CERT training program in Spanish, which have been broadcast on local Telemundo affiliates in Tucson and Phoenix.
Building a Medical Reserve Corps with grant funding from HHS. Activity to date, includes recruiting more than 140 interested volunteers, developing a Citizen Corps database for MRC volunteers (with assistance from University of Arizona students), developing a more user-friendly MRC application form, and designing an official database of licensed MRC healthcare professional volunteers.

The Council is also talking with state licensing boards aimed at cutting the cost of maintaining licenses for retired medical professionals with the aim is to grow a substantially larger base of qualified professionals who will be able to legally provide medical services during times of disaster and other public health emergencies.

Council members also agree that the fast pace of meetings in the early stages of the group’s development served their efforts to drive awareness of the Council’s mission in the community. Despite initial challenges in securing financial resources, Council members believe that with the right momentum and commitment from citizens, anything is possible.

Next Steps
In addition to continuing to enhance the initiatives already underway, the Citizen Corps Council for Homeland Security of Southern Arizona is piloting a new program to engage citizens in keeping communities safe. Still in the early developmental stages, the Council is cultivating a high tech tool to help simplify disaster planning and response. The pilot seeks to train Council members and interested volunteers to use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) handheld data collectors and GIS software to better map the community to assist first responders with critical information in emergency situations. Called the Homeland Security Community Mapping Program, the Council has secured donated equipment and has begun the early stages to map the City of Tucson.

Another goal for the coming year is to get a total of 1,000 citizens trained in CERT, a proposition made feasible by the investment in the “Train the Trainer” program. To date 63 CERT trainers have gone through the program. The Council will also focus on better preparing schoolchildren for disasters.

As always, communication is important, and the Council is working to expand its speaker’s bureau—the number of presenters, the number of topics, and most importantly the number of venues—to keep citizens interested and involved in the this important work.

Additional Information and Resources

Download

The bylaws of the Southern Arizona Citizen Corps Council
Southern Arizona Citizen Corps Council Bylaws (PDF Version -- 597 KB)
Southern Arizona Citizen Corps Council Bylaws (Text Version -- 29 KB)

The Southern Arizona Citizen Corps' 2003 highlights listed by program and activity
Southern Arizona Citizen Corps Council 2003 Highlights (PDF Version -- 94 KB)
Southern Arizona Citizen Corps Council 2003 Highlights (Text Version -- 4 KB)

A picture of the flag raising during the ceremony for the 1st annual First Responders Appreciation Day held on 10-18-2003
Southern Arizona Annual Responders Appreciation Day Flag
Southern Arizona Annual Responders Appreciation Day Flag (Text Version -- 1 KB)

A picture of the Reid Park Band Shell where the 1st annual First Responders Appreciation Day was held on 10-18-2003
Southern Arizona Annual Responders Appreciation Day
Southern Arizona Annual Responders Appreciation Day (Text Version -- 1 KB)

A picture taken on 1-22-04 of CC volunteers with an Eagle Scout
Southern Arizona Picture Photo with Eagle Scout
Southern Arizona Picture Photo with Eagle Scout (Text Version -- 1 KB)

Anuual Report
Southern Arizona 2003 Annual Report