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Urban League Stresses Disaster Preparedness
Article published Sept 13, 2006
By Daniela Velazquez, DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
The Tallahassee Urban League will start hurricane proofing every home it improves in the Frenchtown
neighborhood, the organization announced Tuesday during a news conference at Macomb and Georgia streets.
Curtis Taylor, vice president of the Urban League, said the organization would work with the Capital Area
Chapter of the American Red Cross and the North Florida Domestic Security Task Force to make sure more
Tallahasseeans, especially those in low-income areas, are prepared for disasters.
"They're the hardest hit because their houses are in the worst shape," Taylor said.
The organization recently received a $200,000 grant from the state's Department of Community Affairs.
Since 1979, the Urban League has weatherized 1,600 homes and reworked more than 600 homes in Tallahassee
and Leon County, Taylor said.
Tuesday's conference was held to remind people that September is National Preparedness Month. Members
of the task force spoke about preparing for any kind of disaster, whether it be a terrorist attack or a
natural disaster.
"We look at this as holistic," state emergency response team Chief David Halstead said. "The regional
backbone of our preparedness is evolving into an all-hazards approach."
That approach translates into organizations such as the Red Cross and the Urban League working with
law enforcement and other first-response agencies, crafting integrative programs to help during emergencies.
Taylor said he's working to strengthen homes and the communities they're situated in by planning
for street captains and evacuation plans if there's a disaster.
Every community has a "Mrs. Johnson," a person who's perhaps single and elderly or disabled that
may need help leaving, Taylor said.
"(They) make sure Mrs. Johnson gets out," he said.
Chris Floyd, director of the local Red Cross, wants the Tallahassee area to be prepared for
everything from "hurricanes to house fires," he said. Since the Red Cross started its preparedness
initiative, 207 disaster-resistant neighborhoods have been created in the Big Bend
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