A New York Army National Guard member hands out emergency kits to attendees of a Citizens Emergency Preparedness Corps in Rockaway in March 2015. Photo: New York National Guard Flickr
Winter is heading our way in the North Country. That means it’s a good idea to stock up on emergency supplies in case of a snowstorm or power outage.
But weather isn’t the only thing North Country residents need to prepare for. That’s why Senior Planet in Plattsburgh and the New York National Guard are hosting a free emergency preparedness training at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18.
It’s open to seniors and families throughout Plattsburgh and the North Country. You can sign up for the free event, which will take place at the Senior Planet Center in the Champlain Centre Mall, here. All families who attend will receive a preparedness kit.
Center Manager Jess Fortin told Champlain Valley reporter Cara Chapman that the training will tackle how to prepare for and recover from both natural and man-made disasters. Their conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Cara ChapmanSenior Planet, National Guard to host emergency preparedness training in Plattsburgh
JESS FORTIN: I think it’s things that a lot of people know, but it’s really great to get a refresher on things that you’ve forgotten or hadn’t necessarily thought about.
CARA CHAPMAN: Why is it important to devote a Senior Planet training to emergency preparedness?
FORTIN: With our demographic in particular, a lot of our participants don’t have a whole lot of family, they live independently, their life situations have changed. So it’s important to be prepared and be aware of what to have ready and how to take care of things.
CHAPMAN: When we talk about aging in the North Country and New York state, a big idea that comes up a lot is “aging in place.” Can you talk about how this training feeds into and compliments that idea?
FORTIN: Definitely. I am a strong advocate for aging in place, having worked with the population in various aspects for so long. Staying at home is definitely best for quality of life, I think. People are more comfortable in their environment. However, this is so important because you need to be prepared for these situations to enable you to stay in place in your homes and still be prepared for these different things and just know what to do.
CHAPMAN: What would you say are the main takeaways that you hope people get from this training?
FORTIN: I hope that it makes people more comfortable with the possibilities. We always joke in the North Country to always be prepared because if you’re prepared it’s less likely to happen. Snow brushes in the car year-round, things like that. This puts it on a bigger scale. No one really wants to think about these disasters and these emergencies, but if you’re ready for them and you’re prepared, it takes a lot of that fear out of it, a lot of that panic.
CHAPMAN: What other in-person or online courses does Senior Planet offer to folks in the North Country?
FORTIN: We always have a lot of stuff going on. Of course, Senior Planet definitely focuses—both in-person in our centers with our licensing partners and virtually—on a lot of different tech classes. That’s definitely our foundation. We want to teach people to learn these new skills and keep up and kind of take charge of how they live their lives. But we also do a lot of community building things as well, everything from here an online crochet group to drum circles. There are a lot of fitness classes available to people. There’s always a huge wide variety of everything from discussion groups and just community building to a lot of new skills. You can learn everything from really basic tech stuff all the way up to AI, so there’s a wide variety.