"I never thought it could happen here." Those are words none of us want to find ourselves speaking and this was, in part, the motivation for our parish beginning its journey to formalize our safety and security efforts in 2020. The efforts began modestly with our initital application for a FEMA Nonprofit Security Grant Progam (NSGP) and borne its first fruit with a grant award in August 2021. By the end of that month two working teams (Security Policy and Security Project) were created, along with an oversight committee of parish leadership. Over the course of the 4Q2021 the two working teams reviewed the scope of the grant-approved equipment, making adjustments to quanties and locations.
The Security Project Team is focused on the task of executing the NSGP over the course of its 3-year life, while the Security Policy Team focuses on the development of parish policy and procedures that the grant-provided equipment will support. In addition, the Policy Team is the parish interface to the larger community, including diocesan, county, and local entities (e.g., law enforcement and emergency management). The Policy Team is expected to live on beyond the 3-year life of the grant program to serve as our parish Security Ministry.
If you have skills in document writing, product procurement, project management, general contracting, or physical/cyber security then we could use your support. If you have no such experience but are still interesting in helping, then please give us a shout. To learn more or to volunteer contact us HERE.
For more about our efforts executing the security grant, see HERE.