SouthingtonCARES

John Myers and Janet Mellon spoke about SouthingtonCARES, a new community-based action-oriented task force of members representing agencies, businesses, town officials and individuals who are dedicated to helping victims of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.

Vision
SouthingtonCARES will act as a conduit with other agencies such as the Red Cross, AmeriCares, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army and other service organizations to match available resources with the needs of people affected by this and futures disasters.

Meetings
Meetings will be held every other week for the first three months to develop an organizational structure and identify short-term, mid-term and long-term goals along with an action plan to accomplish those goals.

Objectives

1. Coordination of workers, skilled and unskilled, who want to help in whatever way they can.
   
2. Coordination of training programs to prepare workers to provide services to those in need.
   
3. Coordination of immunizations needed for workers.
   
4. Coordination with the Red Cross for blood drives.
   
5. Coordination of financial resources.
   
6. Coordination of support services for displaced families in Southington.
   
7. Coordination of support groups for those returning from disaster areas.

Group to aid in disasters - Southington CARES a permanent entity
By JESSICA KASTNER, Observor staff writer

When disaster strikes, most people are willing to help. But a group of community leaders calling themselves Southington Cares says it will be a permanent resource for disaster victims for years to come. The group was initially created in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when representatives from the - article continued