Illinois Citizen Corps Councils have become nationally recognized. At the 2010 Citizen Corps National Achievement awards, Illinois boasted winners in two categories: the individual award went to Timika Hoffman-Zoller, and the Newcomer Award to the New Lennox Citizen Corps.
“It was an amazing experience; I still can’t get over it. And neither can the city,” said Hoffman-Zoller, who runs the website On the Safe Side. “It was a big hit for us, an individual award and the best newcomer.”
A look at the Citizen Corps calendar online shows that despite Illinois’ award winning status, there has not been a planned event for the public since the beginning of the year. The online brochures encouraging people to become Healthcare Disaster Volunteers still name Rod Blagojevich as governor.
So what exactly is the Citizen Corps program and how does it work? Many Chicagoans have no idea, and finding an answer is hard to come by.
Lyn Caroli, who works and rides the L in Chicago, said she had never heard of the program or of the national Citizen Corps events taking place throughout the country in the coming weeks.
“I don’t know anything about it,” said Caroli. “It sounds valid.”
The Senior Emergency Management Coordinator for the Office of Emergency Affairs in charge of the Chicago Citizen Corps didn’t return my first phone call. On the second attempt, the conversation lasted less than a minute, the time it took to say that he could not explain what the program is or does without going through the Office of Emergency Management’s spokesman.
The spokesman for Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management, requested questions ahead of time as it “will make it simpler for us to respond.” I sent in my questions three hours later. No return call that day. The next day I called again, his office and then his cell phones. Phone calls and questions were never answered. Neither were emails.
I tried to reach another Senior Emergency Management coordinator, a man who had already told Hoffman-Zoller that I should contact him with any questions about the program administration or grant funding. He said he should be in the office most of the day on Monday. I called repeatedly Monday and there was no answer. Inquires to the email address as listed in the City of Chicago phone directory repeatedly bounced back; the email could not be delivered.
Inquires at the state level drew just as few answers. A call to the Illinois Citizen Corps Council led to a voicemail saying no one was available at the moment but someone would return calls as soon as possible within office hours. For the following week, no one at the office picked up the phone, let alone returned the calls.
But this is a national program, which up through 2010 received $12.48 million in funding specifically delegated for state and local Citizen Corps. And although after 2010 the Citizen Corps lost special status and was lumped in with other preparedness grants – a category with its own funding cuts – it still received federal funding. Someone had to be willing to explain where that funding went.
FEMA headquarters directed Citizen Corps concerns to someone they said was qualified to speak on the subject. Except that she was out of town. Her voicemail directed me to another FEMA member. Who was also out of town. After sorting through three different government employees, I reached the National Individual and Community Preparedness Division Director for FEMA. She got in touch, not to return an interview request, but rather wondering why this number had called her cell phone repeatedly. But it wasn’t a good time to talk. She was going out of town. She directed me to yet another FEMA employee who responded to my third email and directed me to Jenelle Cardone.
“I know why it’s confusing,” Cardone said. “It’s because Citizen Corps is very local.”
The Citizen Corps program was designed to integrate individuals in the community with organizations responsible for coordinating the response and preparation for any type of disaster. For example, individuals can take free medical training classes to become volunteer first responders, working with the fire department and other organizations in case of an emergency.
“They don’t tell you that you can be a volunteer first responder,” said Hoffman-Zoller. “They just tell you to come and learn. Then at the end of the program they tell you that you can sign up to be one.”
As the program evolved, Cardone said it has become more focused on local disaster preparedness. As such, much of Citizen Corps funding actually goes to the Community Emergency Response Teams or CERT program.
In the grand scheme of things, “Citizen Corps grant funding is at a very low amount compared to other programs” Cardone said.
Caroli suggested that perhaps the Citizen Corps’ partner organizations, like the police and fire departments, could help spread awareness of these programs and emergency preparedness. Ashley Thomas and Monica Pandarino, graduate students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago said to them, the best way to keep informed would be through Facebook.
Pandarino did agree with the program’s goals, though, and the Corps preparing citizens just in case.
“I mean sure, let’s get ready,” said Pandarino. “You know something’s going to happen here eventually.
