Remember when living in a community meant everyone banding together when something needed to be done? Today, that same tradition is part of Safe Communities.
The Safe Communities program is a proven model that works in many different settings. Each community sets priorities based on its specific safety issues.
Safe Communities rely on a big-picture approach to injury prevention:
Citizen input and participation;
Collaboration, especially with business and health care;
Data collection and analysis; and
Combined injury prevention efforts
Safety is a community affair.
How do Safe Communities get started? They often begin with concerned neighbors gathering to talk about traffic safety issues. When the conversation turns to action, residents and businesses form committees or other safety groups to work with local government and neighborhood associations. Through ongoing collaboration and new partnerships, Safe Communities evolve into coalitions of citizens, law enforcement, public health, medical, government, business, and civic and service groups.
Coalition members meet regularly to share injury data, and plan and carry out local injury prevention activities. When community members share a commitment to promote safety, injuries and their costs decrease while the quality of life increases.
Who pays for Safe Communities?
Oregon Safe Communities are collaborations of the National Safety Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Oregon Department of Transportation, local communities and many other partners. Funding and technical support from NHTSA helps communities leverage additional resources from other public and private partners.
Listen to the following radio message as an example of what local volunteers can do. This spot was aired courtesy of KBZY 1490 Radio. (Right click on the link below and select "Save Target As" to save the media file to your computer for viewing or forwarding.)
