The Community Security Initiative (CSI) team has been hard at work training staff at synagogues and early childhood centers to ensure that our community has the tools to keep itself safe and secure. In the first seven months of 2023, the CSI Team completed 30 training sessions for nearly 1,000 people. And now we are launching a series of new training programs for our Jewish community and beyond.
“Security training plays a pivotal role in creating a culture of security awareness,” explains Greg Drucks, Federation’s Director of Community Security Training. “It empowers communities with the knowledge and skills to identify potential risks, make informed decisions, and take appropriate actions.”
Thomas “Chip” Michaels, Federation’s Chief Security Officer, has been training non-Jewish institutions, which goes hand in hand with his position on the Executive Board of New Jersey’s Interfaith Advisory Council. After a recent successful Active Threat Training at the Long Branch Covenant Church, Pastor Tony Moss said, “The congregation of Long Branch Covenant Church, the ministries that utilize our facility and the community of faith of Long Branch, are now better prepared to minimize the horrible impact in the unlikely event an assault occurs in any one of our Houses of Worship.” Fostering interfaith communication and cooperation ensures safer Houses of Worship for all.
With Greg’s experience as a juvenile detective and a DARE program coordinator, which focuses on providing guidance to school-age children on positive-decision making, the CSI Team has added internet scam protection training for teenagers to its repertoire. With a focus on social media scams, catfishing, and sextortion, the goal of this training is to ensure that our teens are not coerced into sharing personal information and/or compromising images that could be used for exploitation and extortion. We are taking the concept of internet safety even further by holding training on internet fraud scams for seniors, which is a critical component for ensuring their safety and security in an increasingly digital world, thereby safeguarding their financial resources and personal information.
For over ten years, Greg was an EMT with the Livingston First Aid Squad and the Branchville Fire Department in Maryland. This makes him the perfect trainer for our new CPR Sundays class, starting on October 29 in Whippany, with additional dates in West Orange and Scotch Plains in November and December. Participants in this program will be certified in adult, child, and pediatric CPR skills alongside first aid education. This training empowers individuals to become active participants in emergency response, thus potentially saving lives and reducing long-term impact of injuries.
All are welcome at CPR Sundays – click here to learn more and register.
The CSI Team is thrilled to be rolling out these new training initiatives on top of our already established Active Threat, Usher and Greeter, Stop the Bleed, Emergency Response, and Lockdown trainings. If you have any questions about arranging a training at your organization, contact Greg Drucks at gdrucks@jfedgmw.org