Citizen Corps Councils

Tulsa Citizen Corps

Overview
As a prime target of the floods and twisters that frequent Tornado Alley, the citizens of Tulsa, OK, have a vested interest in disaster preparedness. And in addition to the natural incidents that threaten the area, man-made disasters from chemical hazards and terrorism are also a concern. Tulsa has met the dangers it faces head on with a solid commitment to develop a world-class system for disaster mitigation and preparedness for its residents.

Council Background
The Tulsa Citizen Corps Council did not formally come into existence until after President Bush’s State of the Union address in January 2002, but it’s local roots can be traced back 1998 and the Tulsa Project Impact initiative. With an emphasis on mitigating the impact from natural disasters and a Project Impact grant from FEMA, Tulsa set about to build a “disaster-resistant” community infrastructure to educate Tulsa residents on safety measures, put systems in place to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, and demonstrate options that ensure the Tulsa community had the latest means of dealing with nature’s wrath.

After President Bush’s introduction of Citizen Corps, Tulsa’s Mayor, Bill LaFortune, tapped the community’s existing resources and assigned the job of creating a Citizen Corps Council to Tulsa’s Project Impact team. In addition, Mayor LaFortune created the Mayor’s Homeland Security Task Force, a coalition of first responder agencies designed to work with Citizen Corps programs to prepare for and respond to potential act of terrorism or man-made disasters. To signify his commitment to Tulsa’s citizen preparedness efforts, he put the stamp of his office on the initiative, anointing it the Mayor’s Citizen Corps. To signify the merging of these two compatible initiatives, Tulsa registered the Tulsa Project Impact Citizen Corps Council in early 2002 and become on the first 50 Citizen Corps Councils in the nation.

Strategy
From the outset, the Council was very deliberate in reaching out to all parts of its diverse community. They partnered with the local Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) to train and educate the area’s senior citizens. Another partnership was formed with the Language/Culture Bank to provide translation services for first responders in the area’s Hispanic community. And partnerships with organizations such as the Tulsa Metropolitan Urban League, kept the Council in touch with Tulsa’s African-American families.

Drawing from a broad array of public and private organizations, the Tulsa Project Impact Citizen Corps Council banded together to pursue the following mission:

“To improve the safety of our region by promoting citizen involvement, creating public-private partnerships, and pooling agency resources to create a disaster-resistant community.”

Mayor LaFortune looked to Ann Patton, then Director of Tulsa’s Project Impact efforts and the Mayor’s Citizen Corps programs, to provide leadership for this new joint initiative. Ms. Patton in turn relied on the Council’s executive board, which included representatives from State Farm Insurance, the Bank of Oklahoma, the American Red Cross Tulsa Area Chapter, Saint Simeon’s Episcopal Home, the Tulsa Fire Department, and the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency. These dedicated individuals formulated the vision for Tulsa’s Citizen Corps, which was organized into seven programs:

Alert Neighbors, administered by the Citizens Crime Commission, is Tulsa’s equivalent to the Neighborhood Watch Program. This program addresses crime and terrorism prevention issues such as personal safety, auto theft, home security and neighborhood watch.
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers take action in a disaster to help others until professional first responders arrive. These volunteers assist their families, neighbors, and co-workers by helping to assess damage and administer first aid, conduct search and rescue, and organize spontaneous volunteers. The Council has partnered with the Tulsa Fire Department, Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, and local law enforcement to provide CERT training to the city’s neighborhood associations, businesses, and schools.
The Language/Culture Bank, coordinated by the Tulsa Volunteer Center and the local Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), provides volunteers with foreign language skills, such as Spanish or Vietnamese, or multicultural experience on an “on-call” basis to assist community agencies with public health and safety issues. These volunteers also make themselves available for speaking engagements to schools and civic organizations.
Medical Reserve Corps recruits active and retired medical professionals to help the medical and health communities during emergencies and to provide year round public education services. With the help of the local county health department and emergency medical services authority, the Medical Reserve Corps mobilizes, trains, and manages these volunteers. Tulsa received a grant from HHS to develop their MRC.
Safe & Secure Teams work with neighborhoods, businesses, and non-profit organizations in a seven-step process to help them become prepared as a community for a natural or manmade disaster through assessment, education, and preparedness projects. A trained Citizen Corps volunteer team facilitates this comprehensive program at each project site.
Tulsa Human Response Coalition is comprised of more than 30 community and faith-based organizations. The coalition taps into public health, mental health, emergency response, and human services professionals and volunteers to serve “on-call” to first and second responders who may need their assistance during an emergency;
Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) assist the Tulsa Police Department by performing various duties, including staffing the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip phone line, working on cold cases, and conducting handicapped parking patrols, to free up police officers for other frontline duties.

The Council reaches citizens where they work, live, play, and pray. Members of the Council’s speakers’ bureau make presentations and distributed materials to neighborhood associations, civic and church groups, and volunteer meetings on Citizen Corps programs in a range of community settings. Outreach efforts extend to local parades, fairs, and home and garden shows. Additionally, the Council cultivates ties with the city’s media outlets, assuring that announcements and activities will covered in newspapers and on television and radio broadcasts, and distributes information about Citizen Corps programs, activities, and disaster preparedness on its website and at local libraries and in convenience stores, and McDonald’s restaurants.

To secure and manage volunteers, the Tulsa Project Impact Citizen Corps Council developed a Web-based database that allowed program coordinators to administer volunteer data from their office locations - City Hall, the Tulsa Fire Department, the Tulsa Police Department, the Community Service Council, and the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency.

Tulsa Partners, Inc., a 501-C3 non-profit organization, worked to secure additional resources, donations, and grants to support the range of ongoing Tulsa Project Impact Citizen Corps Council projects.

Council Results
With a strong community preparedness base, the expanded mission of the Tulsa Project Impact Citizen Corps Council has yielded impressive results:

Recruited more than 500 volunteers to take part in Citizen Corps activities
Developed programs for special-needs and minority audiences, including the Islamic Society of Tulsa, Tulsa Speech and Hearing Association, and St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, a Spanish-speaking congregation
Secured more than $1.8 million dollars in grants for disaster preparedness programs from HHS, the Corporation for National Community Service, and others
Secured successful partnership with local McDonald’s franchises – providing financial and in-kind support for “Mayor’s Citizen Corps Month,” in which 64 McDonald’s restaurants distributed information on family safety and disaster preparedness through in-store displays and tray liners. McDonald’s also sponsored Tulsa’s First Annual Flag Day Pancake Breakfast by providing backpacks filled with disaster preparedness items to more than 500 local children
Received significant response from area media as a result of proactive outreach including newspaper inserts and television coverage.

Next Steps
Tulsa has set its sights on a number of goals and objectives for the next two years including:

Training 200 Safe & Secure community units
Increasing Language/Culture Bank volunteers to more than 200 to address language and culture barriers and build bridges within the Tulsa community
Increasing participation in the VIPS program from the original 50 volunteers to a total of more than 200
Developing innovative ways the Tulsa Human Response Coalition can use existing volunteer resources to address future homeland security concerns
Forming more than 80 CERT teams in schools and neighborhoods throughout Tulsa, in addition to business teams

Additional Information and Resources

Download

An overview of the Tulsa Citizens Corps
Tulsa Mayor's Citizen Corps Flyer (PDF Version -- 105 KB)
Tulsa Mayor's Citizen Corps Flyer (Text Version -- 6 KB)

A brochure that gives an overview of the Tulsa Citizen Corps
Tulsa Mayor's Citizen Corps Volunteer Project Pamphlet (PDF Version -- 173 KB)
Tulsa Mayor's Citizen Corps Volunteer Project Pamphlet (Text Version -- 14 KB)

A the annual progress reports of Tulsa Partners, Inc (a partnership between the Tulsa Mayor's Citizen Council and Tulsa Project Impact). It includes and overview of the overall program as well as its activities and impact during 2003
Tulsa Annual Progress Report (PDF Version -- 27.6 MB)
Tulsa Annual Progress Report (Text Version -- 144 KB)

A picture of the council leaders and staff that is sent to individuals who have volunteered with the organization, thanking them for their involvement
Tulsa Council Postcard (PDF Version -- 1.9 MB)
Tulsa Council Postcard (Text Version -- 2 KB)

A brochure that offers important information about the ways in which families can prepare for disasters
Tulsa Family Preparedness Guide in English (PDF Version -- 8.0 MB)
Tulsa Family Preparedness Guide in English (Text Version -- 59 KB)

A brochure that offers important information about the ways in which families can prepare for disasters
Tulsa Family Preparedness Guide in Spanish (PDF Version -- 606 KB)
Tulsa Family Preparedness Guide in Spanish (Text Version -- 82 KB)

A flyer giving an overview of Tulsa's CERT
Tulsa CERT Flyer (PDF Version -- 13.9 MB)
Tulsa CERT Flyer (Text Version -- 5 KB)

An overview of the Tulsa Citizen Corps' VIPS program, which allows citizens to volunteer their time to their local law enforcement agency
Tulsa VIPS Flyer (PDF Version -- 94 KB)
Tulsa VIPS Flyer (Text Version -- 5 KB)

An overview of the Tulsa Citizen Corps' Safe and Secure Volunteer Program, which engages neighborhoods, businesses and non-profit organizations in a seven-step process of becoming prepared as a community
Tulsa Safe and Secure Volunteer Program Flyer (PDF Version -- 75 KB)
Tulsa Safe and Secure Volunteer Program Flyer (Text Version -- 7 KB)

An overview of the Tulsa Citizen Corps' Human Response Coalition, which brings together professionals and volunteers with relevant skills together and makes their skills available to first responders
Tulsa Human Response Coalition Flyer (PDF Version -- 8.0 MB)
Tulsa Human Response Coalition Flyer (Text Version -- 2 KB)

An overview of the Tulsa Citizen Corps' Language Culture Bank, which allows citizens with multicultural experience or skills to assist community agencies with preparedness, security and safety
Tulsa Language/Culture Flyer (PDF Version -- 66 KB)
Tulsa Language/Culture Flyer (Text Version -- 5 KB)

A Newsletter that provides an update on Tulsa Citizen Corps activities, members and general organization information
Tulsa Partners Newsletter (12/2002) (PDF Version -- 723 KB)
Tulsa Partners Newsletter (Text Version -- 14 KB)

A list of media contacts that have covered aspects of the Tulsa Citizen Corps
Tulsa Media Contacts (PDF Version -- 44 KB)
Tulsa Media Contacts (Text Version -- 2 KB)

A placemat that provides information about Citizen Corps as well as tips for how to prepare for disasters and what to do during disasters
Tulsa McDonald's Placemat (PDF Version -- 981 KB)
Tulsa McDonald's Placemat (Text Version -- 14 KB)