One piece of the mission of the American Red Cross is to prevent human suffering in the face of emergencies. The simplest way to do that is to help individuals and families learn how to be prepared for the disasters that happen in our communities. When a disaster strikes, because it can and will happen, everyone will have the tools and knowledge to respond accordingly.

The month of September is National Preparedness Month. For the Red Cross and many of our partner organizations, September is the perfect opportunity to voice the power of being prepared in our homes and in our communities.

There are so many simple, quick ways to prepare for an emergency situation.

1. Check your smoke detectors once a month and change the battery at least once a year.
2. If you don’t have smoke detectors, install them. One in every bedroom, one outside of sleeping areas and one on every level of your home. (NOTE: carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors are not the same thing.)
3. Make a Fire Escape Plan and teach it to every member of the household.
4. Practice your plan twice a year.
5. Know what emergencies can affect your area: Flooding, Tornadoes, etc.
6. Create a 72-hour Emergency Kit filled with necessities to keep your family safe and sound for 3 days.
7. Take a first aid and CPR course.
8. Download the FREE Red Cross Apps through iOS or Android app marketplaces.
9. Make your neighbors part of your emergency plan (and you become a part of theirs), especially if they are older adults or have young children in the home.

All September long, our blog will be dedicated to details ways that you can get your family prepared, so be sure to subscribe or check back often.

If you are regular reader of this blog or just happened here through Google, please, share this link with your friends and colleagues. It is vitally important that we help ourselves and each other before an emergency situation happens.