Anazao, Safe Communities ready to put grants to use
The recent grant received by Wayne-Holmes Safe Communities and Anazao will help to continue the organizations’ efforts to reach out into the community and provide valuable safety services and functions like the annual Safe Communities Alcohol-free Christmas evening.
For years, the partners at Anazao Community Partners and Wayne-Holmes Safe Communities have worked toward the goal of educating the public on the importance of taking every safety precaution possible to prevent accidents, injuries and even fatalities in local roads.
Recently a grant was awarded that will further the effort to do just that.
Anazao Community Partners announced that it has received two grants from the Ohio Traffic Safety Office to operate Safe Communities programming in Wayne and Holmes Counties.
The grants are funded through the US Department of Transportation/National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Wayne County Safe Communities was awarded $46, 200 and Holmes County Safe Communities was awarded $27,500, with the goal of reducing traffic related fatal and serious injury crashes in the two counties.
“It’s a big deal for us in terms of reaching out into the community to present powerful and impacting messages concerning how we can all be safer when it comes to traveling our roads,” said Beth McCready, Safe Communities coordinator and prevention coordinator with Anazao.
The Safe Communities grants provide public information and education to both Wayne and Holmes Counties for the messages of “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” “Click it or Ticket,” “Stay Alive, Don’t Text and Drive,” and “Look out for Motorcycles.” Wayne and Holmes County Safe Communities will promote these messages through Sept. 30, 2023.
McCready said everyone involved is eager to put the grant funding to good use.
“Some of the activities and ways that we promote traffic safety include an alcohol-free holiday happy hour; participation in county fairs and festivals, the “Click it or Ticket” banner contest for elementary schools, safety challenges at the high schools, health and safety fairs and distribution of educational materials including fliers and yard signs,” McCready said. “In addition, the group has promoted activities like bike rodeos, car teens, and this year she said they will be adding a youthful driving program in each county to reach young drivers about the importance of not driving distracted and buckling up each time they are in a vehicle.
“With social media and the distractions that brings, that’s become a very important message to our teens,” she added.
Both Wayne and Holmes Counties have a Facebook page to provide education and information on traffic related matters to help keep citizens safe on our roadways.
The grant requires that a coalition of representatives from law enforcement, state and county transportation, fire and EMS, social service agencies, insurance representatives, travel industry, as well as any interested community members, meet on a regular basis to discuss prevention and education activities with the goal to reduce the number of traffic related fatal and serious injury crashes in the two counties.
Wayne County Safe Communities coalition meets the second Tuesday of the even months and the Holmes County Safe Communities coalition meets the third Tuesday of the odd months. Currently the coalitions are meeting virtually.
If anyone would like to become involved in one or both coalitions, and volunteer in other ways with grant activities, the contact person is Beth McCready. She can be reached at mccreadyb@anazaocommunitypartners.org or by phone at 330-641-3175.