5,022
edits
2023-2024 NET Program Realignment: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
2023-2024 NET Program Realignment (view source)
Revision as of 22:03, 13 November 2023
, 13 November 2023→Climate change
m (→Climate change) |
m (→Climate change) |
||
| Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
Since NET's founding in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqu132vTl5Y 1994], the threat of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake drove urgency behind disaster preparedness and response programming. That threat remains. But a new fighter has entered the ring: extreme weather events caused by climate change. Extreme weather, such as heat domes and snow storms, have (and will continue to) take lives and result directly in more NET volunteers deployed for more hours. | Since NET's founding in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqu132vTl5Y 1994], the threat of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake drove urgency behind disaster preparedness and response programming. That threat remains. But a new fighter has entered the ring: extreme weather events caused by climate change. Extreme weather, such as heat domes and snow storms, have (and will continue to) take lives and result directly in more NET volunteers deployed for more hours. | ||
In the immediate post-COVID era, January 2022 to October 2023, NETs logged approximately 3,917 deployment hours. That includes planned deployments, such as serving as parade guides and first aid response at the Rose Festival or fire fuel mitigation. <span style="background:#FFFF00; color:#FFFF00">.</span><span style="background:#FFFF00">'''61% of those deployment hours were logged in response to events caused by extreme weather.'''</span><span style="background:#FFFF00; color:#FFFF00">.</span> | In the immediate post-COVID era, January 2022 to October 2023, NETs logged approximately 3,917 deployment hours. That includes planned deployments, such as serving as parade guides and first aid response at the Rose Festival or fire fuel mitigation.<span style="background:#FFFF00; color:#FFFF00">.</span><span style="background:#FFFF00">'''61% of those deployment hours were logged in response to events caused by extreme weather.'''</span><span style="background:#FFFF00; color:#FFFF00">.</span> When I started at PBEM in 2012, that percentage was closer to 10%. And the percent attributable to extreme weather events is likely only to climb. | ||
=== Organizational changes === | === Organizational changes === | ||
The City of Portland is undergoing the most radical restructuring of its government in its history. Day 1 of the new government is January 1, 2025. But, organizational transformations and fluctuations will continue well beyond that date as city government settles into its new state of being. This is relevant to us as NET volunteers as all programs are more carefully scrutinized and evaluated | The City of Portland is undergoing the [https://www.portland.gov/transition/overview most radical restructuring of its government in its history]. Day 1 of the new government is January 1, 2025. But, organizational transformations and fluctuations will continue well beyond that date as city government settles into its new state of being. This is relevant to us as NET volunteers as all programs are more carefully scrutinized and evaluated by twelve new City Councilors. | ||
NET should be ready for that scrutiny and seen as among the strongest ''community'' programs in the City (not just as a specialized emergency response program). We show that strength by demonstrating our connections to our neighborhoods, as opposed to being a program of insular disaster responders. | |||
Any organizational restructuring should imply a restructuring of resources as well. Though nothing is set in stone, we should prepare ourselves to have less access to resources in the immediate future, and also prop up the [https://friendsofportlandnet.org/ Friends of Portland NET] for fundraising more if, for no other reason, than a fiscal | As the City government changes, PBEM is simultaneously changing. PBEM is undertaking an important reconstruction of our Operations Section. As NET volunteers have worked hard to grow the credibility of the NET program, volunteers have become an increasingly important part of our routine emergency management response. For example, NET volunteers are called into the ECC/EOC to help when we have an activation. I am not aware of another CERT program that does that. | ||
Any organizational restructuring should imply a restructuring of resources as well. Though nothing is set in stone, we should prepare ourselves to have less access to resources in the immediate future, and also prop up the [https://friendsofportlandnet.org/ Friends of Portland NET] for fundraising more if, for no other reason, than a fiscal backstop. [[wikipedia:The_Ant_and_the_Grasshopper|We must be ants, not grasshoppers.]] ''However'', few teams are cozy enough with their neighbors to fundraise for their teams, and PBEM/NET needs to encourage a higher level of direct engagement with neighbors at the block-scale level. | |||
=== Revisiting the purpose of a NET ''team'' === | === Revisiting the purpose of a NET ''team'' === | ||
Among the most significant change drivers, however, is a simple epiphany or two about NET and '''''why''''' | Among the most significant change drivers, however, is a simple epiphany or two about NET and '''''why''''' we meet as teams. | ||
==== 1.) Centralized deployments and self deployments ==== | ==== 1.) Centralized deployments and self deployments ==== | ||