As we watch 2020 fade into the rear view mirror, MySafe:LA is focused on welcoming 2021 and working to create a series of initiatives that will help people in the greater Los Angeles area have a better year. That means renewed emphasis on neighborhood canvassing and related free smoke alarm installations, new online courseware, webinars, and podcast content. It also means more support for our local schools, including getting our instructors back in front of kids, regardless of where they are located (home or on campus).
Our education team is building updated and new courses for students. This includes a new hybrid Junior Fire Inspector program. This program has “graduated” tens of thousands of 4th and 5th grade students in Los Angeles. As we move into 2021, the importance of having a FireSmart:LA home is greater than ever before. With students at home more than in the past, there’s an opportunity to engage them in making certain their homes are safe from the preventable threats to family safety.
We’ll also be creating some online courses, that people can take from home, office, or school. These new courses will help people to understand how a resilient family can lead to a resilient neighborhood, and at some point, to a safer city. It’s a daunting task, with more than four million people living in Los Angeles, but we’ve made measurable progress during the past decade, and we’re going to continue pursuing resilience as a key message to the people we serve.
Our field team will be canvassing at-risk neighborhoods again, beginning in February. Focusing on Spanish language communities, and those with multi-generational families, who are often all at home, our public safety members will be teaching them about fire safety in a COVID-19 world, how to safety escape a fire, and the keys to reducing the threat of fire in the first place. We’ll also share ongoing fire and life safety education via our podcasts (both in English and Spanish).
Our COVID-19 risk assessment and information updates will continue, notably as we begin to see the positive impact of vaccinations and improved therapies in treating this insidious disease. If you need information, don’t hesitate to visit our COVID-19 information content.
And even with a deadly pandemic slamming our communities, the equally dangerous threat of earthquakes continues. You’ve heard this before, but it remains true: It isn’t a matter of IF, but a matter of WHEN. A deadly and significant earthquake is in our future. It could happen in ten minutes. It could happen in ten years. It will happen. MySafe:LA will continue our work to create improved awareness, as well as prevention and survival education through out QuakeSmart:LA initiative.
So, join us as we work to build a safer Los Angeles. If you need smoke alarms, education, or support, reach out to us. our phones work great! 213.634.0100 – or online via this website. We’re committed to making 2021 a big improvement over the past 12 months.
