BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — In a move towards enhancing community preparedness, Madison Mooney of LiKEN Knowledge is spearheading an initiative to develop a communication strategy to address emergencies such as the recent countywide water outage in Martin County. She is asking the community to join the initiative in two upcoming sessions: Feb. 28 in Inez and March 1 in Pilgrim.

As the community engagement coordinator for the nonprofit, Mooney emphasizes the need for a plan that prioritizes the well-being and safety of residents.

“Residents, leaders, emergency services, the newspaper, Martin County Concerned Citizens, water board members, and Alliance Water Resources need to come together to make sure the residents’ voices are heard and involved,” Mooney says.

“This countywide communication plan will have residents’ needs in mind to include such things as different methods of communication, education about our local water system, and creating real plans for how to support our residents during the times when our community is without water.”

Mooney’s approach is rooted in the belief that the collective wisdom and engagement of the community are indispensable for fostering preparedness.

“This method of creative thinking, planning, and developing can only truly work with everyone’s support and knowledge sharing across the board,” remarked Mooney. “Building a better future for our community starts with changing how things are done now and improves our efforts as a community working together. Your voices and local knowledge are so important.”

The Feb. 28 session is set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Martin County Senior Citizens Center. The March 1 session is on tap for 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Pigeon Roost Community Center.

For those interested in learning more about the initiative or wishing to contribute to the planning process, contact Mooney via email at mmooney@likenknowledge.org, by phone at 606-626-5930, or through Facebook under the name Virginia Mooney.