Blunt Announces $200,000 Homeland
Security Grant
Funding Available for local Citizen Corps Councils Statewide
JEFFERSON CITY, March 3, 2006-Gov. Blunt today announced
Missouri has received a $200,000 Department of Homeland Security grant
to support the state’s 60 local Citizen Corps Councils. The
councils are grassroots volunteer organizations that help their local
communities prepare for and respond to disaster.
“Citizen Corps Councils are comprised of Missourians
dedicated to helping their fellow citizens prepare for natural disasters
or possible terrorist attacks,” Blunt said. “These everyday
heroes deserve our thanks and appreciation and I am pleased these
resources will be made available to them as they work to help keep
Missouri prepared and ready to respond to any crisis.”
The deadline to submit Citizen Corps grant application
to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) is March 22, 2006
for the FY 05 grant funding cycle.
Citizen Corps Councils are community collaborative efforts
that support five charter programs including: Medical Reserve Corps,
Fire Corps, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Volunteers In
Police Service, and Neighborhood Watch. In addition Citizen Corps
groups support other voluntary organizations with disaster missions
such as the American Red Cross and AmeriCorps. Missouri also has six
Medical Reserve Corps units and over 100 Citizen Emergency Response
Teams (CERT).
While this grant will primarily be used to support existing
Citizen Corps Councils, SEMA is accepting applications to establish
new councils. Information and the grant applications packet information
is available on the SEMA Web site at http://sema.dps.mo.gov.
Citizen Corps grant applications will be evaluated and
scored by a review panel composed of various public safety subject
matter experts. Councils that receive grants must spend the funds
before March 31, 2007.
For more information please contact Susie Stonner at
(573) 526-9136.