City of Palo Alto Emergency Services Volunteer Activation Order 20200317-1

The City of Palo Alto is activating the ESV program in response to the COVID-19 emergency. A state of emergency has been issued at the National, State, County, and City level and extraordinary measures have been enacted to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The intent of this activation is to promote public safety in our neighborhoods and to encourage a sense of normalcy in our community.

Actions all ESV Members should take:

1. Be visible in your neighborhoods. “Eyes and Ears”. Take periodic walks and wear your vest and hat and carry your City issued ESV ID Card. The current shelter in place order allows outside activity as long as you maintain a healthy distance from others – at least 6 feet.

2. Stay “in the loop”. Be aware of what is happening locally.
Look for and read OES updates (via Veoci),
Follow the City’s Coronavirus daily updates Web Link
Point neighbors to the City’s Coronavirus website. Web Link
New features are being added weekly – Community Support, and Support Local Businesses
Read and listen to trusted sources of information.

3. Check on your neighbors. On a routine basis communicate with your neighbors. Pass along information you receive from OES or help stop rumors.
Send questions to the City’s Call-Center: 650-272-3181
Provide electronic or hard copy public safety materials.
The current Coronavirus flyer: Web Link
Help / OK signs: Web Link
Many others, ask us about them

4. Update/Create Contact Lists. If you already have contact lists via email, text, online – use those to make sure your neighbors are well. If you don’t, now is a good time to start. Remember that some members of our community may be at more risk with the imposed social isolation and lack of basic supplies.

5. Remember, solve problems at the lowest level. Some community resources are available:See: Web Link
Your closest resource is your best resource.
Ask for help when you don’t have a local solution. Reach out for assistance if you need it. Contact your fellow BPCs, NPC, or OES.
If you have questions, work through your NPCs - follow the chain of command please.

Throughout this situation – have positive intentions, be respectful, and do no harm. Thanks for all you are doing and will do to assist our community.

Nathan Rainey
Emergency Services Coordinator

I would encourage Menlo Park's City Council and City management to take this unprecedented opportunity to help foster, promote and sponsor the citizen neighborhood emergency response group called MPC Ready and their work. This to help them expand faster to support Menlo Park, Menlo Police and Fire efforts in this emergency... and to develop an enduring infrastructure that can be importantly useful in future emergencies.

Atherton and Palo Alto have embraced this general effort and, as a result, there are now robust resident neighborhood teams in place and trained to respond in emergencies. While they started as grass roots organizations, the Atherton and Palo Alto neighborhood groups really developed and expanded with the help of their respective City governments.. There is no reason why Menlo Park should not help here, especially given our current environment.

The Council choose to ignore every one of these requests.

They, and particularly the staff, more time when we have no more time.

The challenge is NOW - not next month or next year.

The City Of Menlo Park is not a reliable leader in this time of crisis.

“Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.” Stephen Covey

In these difficult times it is an advantage to be able to implement best practices, from wherever they originate, to serve our community.

The extent to which the policies and practices of neighboring communities have taken initiative with willing volunteers, and to which those efforts have born fruit, should vouch for the soundness of the practice. I absolutely encourage the City of Menlo Park to follow suit.

All you have to do is look at downtown Menlo Park. It’s a mess. Vacant buildings and homeless people left to languish on the streets. Menlo Park city council does not care about the citizens. Overmanaged and underserved.

I've been getting most of my local covid-19 information from Palo Alto online sources.