CERN RECEIVES FEMA COMMUNITY RESILIENCE INNOVATION GRANT
The Community Emergency Response Network (CERN) has been notified that it has received a Federal Emergency Response Agency (FEMA) Community Resilience Innovation Grant. This highly competitive program – out of 1,923 applications submitted nationwide, only 30 were funded – was financed by the Rockefeller Foundation and will be administered by FEMA.
Former Horizon Foundation President Richard Krieg developed the application and will be project leader. He said, “This Federal grant is intended to increase family resilience during a national catastrophe. Specifically, we’ll be interested in improving the survivability of suburban populations if Washington DC were the site of a nuclear explosion.”
“For a variety of reasons”, Dr. Krieg added, “credible sources now believe that the threat level has increased for a small nuclear bomb being used in the Capital. Modeling emanating from a number of national laboratories including Lawrence Livermore, Sandia and Los Alamos, indicates that upwards of 200,000 people could be saved if they understood what to do immediately following the blast.”
CERN Chairman Mary Lasky said, “On the heels of Boston, Federal officials believe that this sort of event represents the most formidable regional health emergency ever faced. The health challenges in Howard County would be immense. The award continues CERN’s trajectory as a citizen-run organization dedicated to improving family resilience. It follows a March 5th CERN Conference: ‘Catastrophic Disaster Response: Health, Medical and Population Planning at the Regional Level’ held at the Applied Physics Laboratory that was part of FEMA’s Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program.”
Emphasizing the project’s importance, Senator Barbara Mikulski said, “There is a pressing need to foster widespread understanding of 24-hour sheltering in the wake of a low yield nuclear explosion“ Another project advocate, Senator Ben Cardin, noted that “In 2005, I was happy to present the National Association of County’s ‘Community Achievement Award’ to CERN to recognize the organization’s record of innovative community collaboration strategies.“
Questions about this initiative should be directed to Mary Lasky, Chairman, CERN, at 443-778-5777.