American Legion Commander Jim Cragg shows what the “call for help” postcard looks like, which will be delivered to residents.
About 10,000 post cards were sent to every home in the Pacific Palisades this week. The cards have valuable information about the correct venues and steps for reporting various crimes.
Ronald Reagan American Legion Post 283 Commander Jim Cragg has spearheaded the project for the past six months.
“Citizens need to know who to call in an emergency and calling the wrong agency can result in lost precious time and clogging EMS dispatch,” Cragg said. “As American Legionnaires, we often have a connection and understanding of law enforcement and EMS (Emergency Medical Services), so I decided to utilize this trusted position in the community to help educate our citizens.”
In addition to listing 911, the card also has contacts for both county and police mental health programs so that families dealing with a relative in crisis know where to turn and who to call.
“We also listed our local homeless task force [Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness] and animal control so people have those options to call respectively rather than wasting calls to 911,” Cragg said, noting that Post 283 paid for printing and mailing costs. “I worked with local community groups, and I spoke with the specific agencies directly.”
Resident Lou Kamer did the initial layout for the postcard, and Cragg thanked residents Krishna Thangavelu and Jessica Rogers for input. He also thanked Legionnaire Janice Bowman for guidance on the mental health resources.
“My hope is that this card will end up on refrigerators or saved on cell phones,” Cragg said. “I also hope this will inspire people to understand that they are an important part of the EMS process. If this brings the community closer to our police, fire crews, social workers, paramedics and animal control, then I will have accomplished something more important.”
Cragg said he would be happy to share the postcard format with other communities. He can be reached at JimCraggALPost283@gmail.com or the postcard PDF can be downloaded from https://www.alpost283.com/safety.
This is the backside of the postcard that was mailed to residents this week.
Bravo!
Thank you so much for this effort. However I did call 311 today for a particular matter and was told that Pacific Palisades is not covered by 311. I am new to the area and I am confused.
Joan,
PP is covered by 311. I’ve directed your question to Councilman Mike Bonin’s field deputy for clarification.
Sue