Yesterday DHS’ Ready Program announced a new partnership with Sesame Street as part of its Ready Kids Campaign. By speaking to the youngest among us, the partnership is working to help families understand the steps to take and the resources they should have to be prepared for an emergency.

I think it’s safe to say that the late-night comedians, media pundits and preparedness critics will have a field day making jokes about this relationship; but to anyone who has young kids, you just found yourself two friends, Grover and Rosita who will help you and your family take the steps to a safer future.

The printed materials, as well as on-line video featuring Grover and Rosita, speak to the child as much as they do the adult about what they need to know and what they need to do to be ‘ready.’ After examining the impacts of previous disasters such as the 9/11 attacks, the 2005 Hurricanes and other emergencies around the country, the need to look after the physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing of victims has garnered more and much deserved attention. While an emergency can occur at any time and take any form, helping to educate a child with essential information (knowing their full name, address, phone number, parents name, etc) can make a world of difference.

The Ready Team could not have asked for a better partner than the team behind Sesame Street. Imagination and education have always come together on Sesame Street and if we are going to forge a culture of preparedness, this is a great place to start.

Children have an amazing way of pushing us to do many things – from encouraging us to recycle the newspapers and cans at home to telling us to wash our hands before a ‘snack’ or a meal and turn off the water from a running sink. The simple suggestions that Sesame Street has taught generations of kids is evident in thousands of adults and children and the small behaviors and good habits they learned through the program. Many times, these lessons can spur even an adult to do the ‘right thing’ especially when they are questioned (or even challenged) by a child who is a Sesame Street watcher. Such lessons can make all the difference in the world and they can also have the biggest personal payoff when least expected. Imagine the look on a parent’s face when their child asks them about being ‘ready for an emergency.’

The press release announcing the partnership cited a “recent national survey commissioned by the Children’s Health Fund, approximately 65 percent of families in the United States do not have an emergency plan that all family members are aware of. And there’s another problem: Spanish-language resources aimed at helping families with emergency preparedness are sorely lacking.”

That statistic is staggering, especially in light of the destruction we have watched occur over the past two weeks with Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike. While many of us can shake our heads questioning the judgment (and sanity) of people who did not evacuate from the immediate path of Hurricane Ike, the fact that children are being talked to about what they should do with their families in event of an emergency could do a lot to get more families engaged with preparedness.

For years, schools of all types have taken part in the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) ‘Learn Not to Burn Campaign’ which has taught kids what to do in the event of a fire. From coming home with the worksheet to plan an exit from the home and defining a gathering point for the family, to learning to simply ‘Stop, Drop and Roll,’ this campaign has saved countless lives. All of this education has occurred in a ‘positive, non-threatening manner’ and it has made a difference.

The same holds true for what the Ready Team and Sesame Street are offering our kids.

When a child questions a parent about a ‘right or wrong,’ often times the parent is put in the position of having to explain something very difficult and confusing, if not outright uncomfortable. Regardless of whatever the question may be, the child deserves an answer.

When that same child asks a question such as “What do we do in case of an emergency,’ the parent is going to be put in the position of explaining. That is a question that absolutely deserves a thorough answer and ignoring it is not an option in my book. Unfortunately the survey results cited by the Children’s Health Fund indicate that too many parents don’t have an answer to what is a basic and potentially life altering question. That has to change.

If a child asking a parent that question spurs the family take action – all the better. That’s the point of this partnership. Having allies like Sesame Street’s Grover and Rosita to ‘coach’ the youngest of us along the way (and spur parents to action) may make all the difference to moving that 65% unprepared family figure to a more positive number and a more prepared nation.

Congratulations to the Ready Team and Sesame Street on a great partnership!

Every natural disaster has its problems and Hurricane Ike is no different.  While this response was unimaginably better than that to Katrina, we are now starting to see more and more stories coming out about logistical challenges and shortages in getting commodities into the areas impacted by Hurricane Ike.  I’m sure there are shortages and gaps – there always are in a response – but I also have no doubt another part of this story is the media/public official ‘piling on’ FEMA for whatever the issue de jour might be.

This type of reaction is almost Pavlovian in a way.

It goes like this – The disaster occurs; local and state partners call upon FEMA and others to assist; the response ramps up and materials start to come into the affected areas but it’s not perfect and there are not enough items for everyone who needs something so the de facto behavior is find a reporter and a microphone and ‘trash FEMA.’

It’s always easy to find a reporter who will record the fact that some people did not get the water, ice or MREs they needed while hundreds if not thousands of others did.  While there have been a few news stories about those that have received emergency supplies, I’d still like to see some more coverage about how essential supplies are getting to folks (regardless of them having to stand in line to get it).  Unfortunately successes don’t make much news coverage. We truly live in a media centric world immortalized by the classic Don Henley song, ‘Dirty Laundry.’

“Kick em when they’re up
Kick em when they’re down
Kick em when they’re up
Kick em all around.”

As much as I have been a critic of how Logistics has been run at FEMA, I really feel for these people. Their job is thankless.  Regardless of how much they do it will never be enough.  It will always be too little or too late.  It will also be resoundingly criticized.  To take the job that Eric Smith (FEMA’s Logistics leader) and his team have, you have to have the patience of a saint and skin made of Kevlar because there will always be someone taking a shot at you while someone else is chewing on your arm and leg for something else.

The Mayor of Houston and several other elected officials have already started in on FEMA’s Logistics operations and I have no doubt others will join them.  Criticism such as what the Mayor and other officials have offered may be absolutely warranted and justified, but I offer the following words of caution.  As the leaders of their communities it is their responsibility to raise their voices to let FEMA and others know what they need, but how their criticism is offered and relayed can say an awful lot.

I would hope these leaders and others would take a deep breath first, convey their thanks and appreciation for the efforts that are being expended and then share what their needs might be.  When delivered, their tone should be respectful and mindful of the tireless and round the clock efforts that are underway to support their affected communities.

Several of these leaders have exemplified that type of patient and respectful behavior and they continue to operate in such a dignified manner; but with the disaster almost a week old, the traditional ‘Pavlovian’ finger-pointing behavior and chorus of ‘trash FEMA’ seems about to begin.

As someone who has had the fortune of working with some of these good people during disasters and other ‘events,’ I’d like to say to those officials and other arm-chair critics – ‘Just cool it.’  [There are other things I would like to say but I will follow my own advice to ‘cool it.']

Trashing people, FEMA or DHS does no one any good in the given environment. It only makes things harder.  There is enough anxiety and pressure to go around – pouring fury on it proves nothing.

Does this mean we should refrain from declaring needs and criticism in the midst of what is happening on the Gulf Coast?  Absolutely not, but the tone and delivery of how those needs and criticism are declared should be kept in mind.

While name calling and hysterics by public officials make for lots of media coverage (especially TV – see New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin & Katrina in 2005) they do zilch to make the actual situation any better.

I’m sure in the weeks to come there will be lessons learned and Congressional and media ‘inquests’ that will review what worked and what didn’t with our nation’s Hurricane Ike response.  That’s the way it should be; but for right now, I just have to say God bless Eric Smith, his Logistics team and every other person who is down there from FEMA and the State, Local and private sector response teams trying to make the best happen in the most challenging of circumstances.

My words of support for FEMA and its Logistics team does not mean I am backing off on my earlier criticisms of the need to better engage industry in the entire Logistics operation (as well as other components of disaster response and recovery) but I think if there is anyone who could use a handshake and a pat on the back to ‘keep it up’ it is Eric Smith and his Logistics team.  They are doing everything they can to make life better for people in need and that is a whole lot more than many critics have ever done.

We are fortunate to have Eric, his team and everyone down there serving our nation.  They are not perfect – nor are the rest of us but they are doing a ‘thankless job’ in the most difficult of circumstances and they deserve our appreciation.  They certainly deserve our respect and they’ve earned that in spades.

Our hearts go out to the families dislocated by the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ike. Going back now, however, isn’t the answer. The mayor of Galveston is literally begging residents to stay away, noting that the city cannot possibly provide a safe environment and is nearing a health crisis. Folks returning are only adding to that crisis.

From a USA Today reporter on the scene:

The city can produce only a tiny amount of clean drinking water, there is minimal electricity, standing water will soon breed hordes of mosquitos and the University of Texas Medical Branch – the island’s main medical center -is unable to care for seriously injured people.

Despite the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, where many residents refused to heed common sense and evacuate and faced one of the worst U.S. natural disasters of recent history, there were a shocking number of residents in Galveston, in the thousands, who elected stay behind as well and watch the storm roll in this weekend — despite urgent warnings from all government levels to evacuate.

Pictures tell the story of how this predictably worked out … from Galveston residents walking along the sea wall watching massive waves begin to crest and clowning for pictures …

Clowning for Ike

… To, eventually, the post-hurricane video of death and destruction. The clip below on FOX News says it all, the camera panning a sea of crushed plywood and brick that had days before been homes and places of business: