Extension accepting applications for Youth Preparedness Initiative

The University of Missouri Extension is now accepting applications for the Missouri Youth Preparedness Initiative (MyPI) program. MyPI is a national award-winning program open to youth ages 13-19 from Daviess, Gentry, Harrison, and Worth counties, and is in partnership with Missouri 4-H. The eight-session program will be offered on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to Noon, starting Feb. 29, at the North Central Career Center in Bethany. Interested youths may fill out an application by visiting www.mypimissouri.org.
The MyPI program is comprised of three components that address a variety of disaster preparedness topics.
The first component instructs youth in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, program. This program teaches participants how to respond in a disaster event, and includes: disaster preparedness, fire and utility control, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, CERT organization, disaster psychology, and terrorism.
The second component teaches additional emergency related topics, including: CPR/AED, HAM radio operation, weather spotter, active shooter response, smoke alarm installation and maintenance, smart phone apps and social media, weather radio awareness, career tracks, and a disaster simulation.
The final component, Prep+6, will be assigned the first day of the program and requires participants to prepare an emergency supply kit and a disaster communications plan for their immediate family as well as for six other families.
Participants that successfully complete the MyPI program will receive a graduation certificate and a MyPI CERT backpack prefilled with preparedness supplies.
Local partners working to provide this program in the region include: City of Bethany Fire Department, Harrison County Community Hospital, Harrison County Health Department, North Central Career Center, NTA EMS Rescue, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, and MU Extension in Daviess, Gentry, Harrison, and Worth counties.
For more information about the MyPI program, contact Jackie Spainhower, County Engagement Specialist in Agriculture and Environment, at the Harrison County Extension Center: 660-425-6434 or email [email protected], or Becky Simpson, County Engagement Specialist in 4-H Youth Development, at the Daviess County Extension Center: 660-663-3232 or email [email protected].