The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

The Inside Press

Building Resilience for Future Storms

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By Dr. Susan Rubin

“Anyone who says there is not a change in weather patterns is denying reality.” Andrew Cuomo.

Now that freak storms are becoming a Halloween tradition here in Westchester, it’s time to face up to the inconvenient truth. As our planet continues to heat up from the burning of fossil fuels and the continued destruction of trees, our weather is becoming more unstable. Trees are part of this equation because they act as the lungs of the earth: they convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. But sadly, trees are also part of the problem too because they can snap and uproot in high winds and heavy rains.

Last year’s Halloween canceling storm caused many New Castle residents to be without power for a week, some for close to two weeks and longer. This year’s Frankenstorm  easily doubled last year’s record power outages. Hotels in the region were booked solid two days before the storm even blew into town. Gas powered generators sprung up everywhere as it became obvious that the electric wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

And then the gas lines started. To me, that was the most disconcerting facet of the storm’s aftermath. Like it or not, here in suburbia we are heavily dependent upon gas. We were lucky this time around, the lines didn’t last for long and there was even some free gas pumped in Mt Kisco one day.

Supply chains and grids don’t always work the way they should. We’re learning more and more about Murphy’s Law with each passing storm. What if next year’s 100-year storm includes more extensive power outages? In other words, what if the gas doesn’t flow anywhere nearby?  How would we get by with no gas? What if the ConEd trucks and all the other power trucks that came this time from far away can’t get here for some reason?

We don’t have a problem on our hands; problems have solutions. We have a predicament. Predicaments don’t have easy solutions. Instead, we must generate intelligent responses. A smart response would be to cultivate a culture of self reliance and community resilience.

Meaningful Preparation

Climate change is here and it won’t be going away anytime soon. The time is now to make meaningful preparations for the next freak, 100-year storm or whatever else global weirding tosses our way.

A good place to start is your own street. Meet your neighbors, get their phone and email addresses, make a list for everyone. Find out who has pets, who has generators or extra firewood. Share a pot luck meal with those who live nearby and talk about what you did for this recent storm and what lessons you learned  that will help you prepare better for the next disruption.

Resilience is the lesson we can learn from storms like Sandy. Resilience is about withstanding and surviving unexpected shocks to a system. How do we deal with adversity in such a way that we come through it with minimal harm. Resilience means facing life’s difficulties with courage and patience.

Susan Rubin has lived through 25 years of storms in Chappaqua and is writing a booklet on storm preparation in suburbia that includes delicious recipes.

The First Snow

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It was not the usual feeling of “Winter Wonderland” we love to relish when snow first falls in New Castle. With six inches of snow following a hurricane that left over three quarters of our community without power, so many felt Mother Nature was offering up a bad joke….creating more outages. This photo by Chappaqua’s roving photographer Chatschik Bisdikian (who captures so many beautiful images inside New Castle), perhaps serves as a healthy reminder of who’s really in control.
–Grace Bennett

Fema grant for Sandy Crisis Counseling to MHA

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The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA)  has been chosen to provide crisis counseling assistance through the program,  Project Hope, part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s $8.2 million grant from FEMA. The mandate:  To deliver immediate mental health crisis counseling to individuals impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  A team of twelve has already been assembled and will soon begin visiting the 11,000 individuals in Westchester and Rockland estimated to have been impacted.

Those at emotional risk after a traumatic storm such as Sandy are children; older adults; people with prior trauma, disabilities, serious mental illnesses and substance abuse problems and feelings or sense of hopelessness; people with low-incomes; first responders and other public safety workers.

Symptoms include irritability, poor concentration, low mood and hopelessness, isolation, discouragement, grief over losses and alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse.

If you, or anyone you know, would like to contact Project Hope, call 914-345-5900 extension 7543 or 7544.

MHA of Westchester is a community-based mental health agency that has been helping Westchester County residents for 66 years through direct services, professional and community education and advocacy. MHA supports 20,000 individuals annually through a comprehensive array of mental health services striving to help each individual to achieve their personal goals and to lead independent, healthy and successful lives. For information, visit www.mhawestchester.org

The Gift of Education and The Gift of Opportunity – Fundraiser on Dec. 8!

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By Mrinalini Samanta and Julia Desmarais

Silk bedding and Suzani pillowcases

Please note updated fundraiser date and location!

What does it mean to be a girl in an impoverished nation? For many, it means not getting an education, it means being deprived of the opportunity to get a job, and it means not being able to support your family. It means being restricted to living in a house where you have no say and no rights.

In most third-world countries, it is the mothers who stay home to take care of the families and to teach the children, but if the mothers are deprived of education, how can they teach? How can their children learn? One woman’s lack of education hurts both her sons and her daughters, and their children after them. But until an attitude of acceptance towards women and an understanding of the importance of education are fostered, this cycle will not end. That is where GlobalSchoolhouse, a student-run club at Horace Greeley High School, comes in. The mission of GlobalSchoolhouse is to stop this cycle in its tracks by helping to raise awareness and to fund education for women and girls across the world. We believe that every child deserves the right to a better future, and we believe that by teaching a girl you educate an entire family. In short, we believe in the power of education.

That is why we are raising funds to support an organization called Sir Syed Trust (SST) in India. SST has been teaching women and girls how to sew and make clothes, a skill that will not only help their families and their job opportunities, but will also teach them math and measurement. After those skills are taught, SST moves on to teaching reading and writing. We at GlobalSchoolhouse, as part of our ongoing commitment to SST, are collecting children’s books to supply a new library in India.

But our work does not stop there. We are also sponsoring and corresponding with a girl in Cambodia through the Cambodian Children’s Fund. Her name is Srey Reab, and before we sponsored her, she and her family were picking through the trash to survive. She is now getting educated and making many new friends.

To raise money for these two organizations, GlobalSchoolhouse will be holding a fundraiser on December 8th from 10-2:30 in the Greeley Cafeteria. We will be selling home furnishings (blankets, pillowcases, etc.) made by women in India and generously donated by Kuldeep Kaur, who designs and manufactures these products for many well-known designers including Barbara Barry, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein (http://www.betterlivingcollection.com/). The women who have handcrafted these beautiful works of art were once illiterate and desperate, but are now successfully supporting their families and sending their children to school.

Please come support our cause – we look forward to seeing you on the 8th! In the mean time, if you have any questions, please contact us at global.schoolhousehghs@gmail.com.

Mrinalini Samanta and Julia Desmarais, juniors at Horace Greeley High School, are the Co-Presidents and Founders of GlobalSchoolhouse.

Holiday Toy Drive

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Help families who need your help now!

Help Open Door Family Medical Centers ensure children from families of less
fortunate means receive a brand new toy or gift this holiday season. Please
donate a new toy or gift for children ages newborn to 14 years old. All toys are
distributed to the young patients at Open Door. Every toy counts!

Goal: 2,500 Toys
(New, unwrapped toys for children newborn to 14 years old)

Value: $10 – $20
Date: Now – December 17

Please bring donations to the Church of St. Mary the Virgin
(Parish Hall), 191 South Greeley Avenue, Chappaqua

Toy Ideas: Baby toys, learning toy, stroller toys, baby dolls, Barbies, Moxie Girls, Monster
High, super heroes, television characters, Dora & Diego, Thomas the Tank Engine, trains, cars,
Hot Wheel sets, Legos & Duplos, craft sets, paint sets, Play Doh sets, Crayola sets, remote
control vehicles, wallets, watches, silver jewelry, jewelry making kits, make-up sets for teens,
sporting goods, iTune cards, gift certificates to Old Navy and Modells. Visit Open Door’s Wish List on their website at www.opendoormedical.org.

Information: Elinor Griffith, ElinorAGriffith@aol.com

Open Door: Alicia Ward, Volunteer Coordinator at 914-502-1468 or award@odfmc.org
No time? Please visit Open Door’s wish lists on amazon.com, toysrus.com and kohls.com.
Monetary donations are cheerfully accepted. Checks payable to Open Door Foundation may be
mailed to Alicia Ward, Open Door Foundation, 2 Church Street – Suite 101, Ossining, NY 10562.
To make a credit card donation, please visit our website at www.opendoormedical.com, select
Donate Now and then please enter Toy Drive in the comments box.