Wayne, Holmes Safe Communities awarded grants
Anazao Community Partners received two grants from the Ohio Traffic Safety Office to operate Safe Communities programming in Wayne and Holmes counties.
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.
Safe Communities grants provide public information and education to 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; as well as Look out for Motorcycles. Wayne and Holmes County Safe Communities will promote these messages next September.
Activities: Click it or Ticket, safety challenges, alcohol-free happy hour
Some of the activities and ways traffic safety is promoted include an alcohol free holiday happy hour; participation in county fairs and festivals; Click it or Ticket Banner contest for Elementary Schools; Safety Challenges at the High Schools; health and safety fairs; distribution of educational materials – including fliers and yard signs; bike rodeos; car teens; and this year a youthful driving program has been added in each county to reach young drivers about the importance of not driving distracted and buckling up each time they are in a vehicle.
Both Wayne and Holmes counties have a Facebook Page to provide education and information on traffic related matters.
The grants are funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation/National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
The grant requires a coalition of representatives from law enforcement, state and county transportation, fire and EMS, social service agencies, insurance representatives, travel industry, as well as interested community members. The coalition meets regularly 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. At this time the coalitions are meeting virtually.
If anyone would like to become involved in one or both of the coalitions, or volunteer in other ways with grant activities, the contact person is Beth McCready. She can be reached at mccreadyb@anazaocommunitypartners.org or 330-641-3175.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Grants will help Safe Communities to educate youth in Wayne, Holmes
