National Security Month a success

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that a record number of organizations participated in the fourth annual National Preparedness Month.

The DHS cited more than 1,800 National Prepared Month coalition member organizations -- national, regional, statewide and local -- that participated in record numbers for the fourth annual event. Officials estimate that at least 1,000 events and activities were coordinated across the United States in an effort to spread a message of emergency preparedness, according to the Homeland Security Department.

“This coordinated effort helps to serve as an important reminder to millions of individuals to take steps to prepare,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, in a statement. “The large involvement from the public in National Preparedness Month 2007 reinforces the fact that a greater proportion of Americans are recognizing the need for personal responsibility in preparing for emergencies before they happen. However, this preparedness message must continue year-round to everyone in America.”

The 2007 National Preparedness Month was broken into four theme areas including preparedness for kids, business preparedness, multicultural preparedness and home and family preparedness.

Additional opportunities for citizens to engage in efforts in their local communities were provided by the DHS’s Citizen Corps and its program partners who offered preparedness trainings and educational programs.