Homeland Security grants to aid emergency volunteers

Local emergency volunteer organizations received a financial boost Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

A total of $199,000 in grants was awarded to 30 Citizen Corps Councils throughout the state, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Among those receiving grants, the Cape Girardeau Fire Department received $15,000, Scott County Emergency Management received $7,000 and Bollinger County and the Perry County Health Department each received $4,000, according to Susie Stonner, a spokeswoman for the State Emergency Management Agency.

The money awarded to the local agencies depended on their needs and what they were applying for in their grant proposals, Stonner said.

The Corps Council began shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, when President Bush called for citizen volunteers, according to Stonner. They are volunteer organizations that help local communities prepare for disasters.

Included under the Citizen Corps Council umbrella are Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service, Medical Reserve Corps, Fire Corps and Community Emergency Response Team, according to the Department of Public Safety release.

Most of the money received in Cape Girardeau would go toward training for Community Emergency Response Team, coordinator Jane Stough said.

The team trains residents how to survive catastrophes while waiting for help from rescue workers. Since the team's inception in 1991, more than 2,000 local citizens have been trained, Stough said.

Some of the money received in the grant would also go toward establishing a local Medical Reserve Corps, which is composed of professional and nonprofessional emergency responders, she said.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127