POUGHKEEPSIE – Twenty-one city youth and five staff members from Nubian Directions went through emergency training on Thursday to be able to help in time of need. Most of the young participants reside in the troubled areas of Poughkeepsie’s north side.
Nubian Directions II on Main Street in Poughkeepsie has spent 29 years offering educational programs, workforce development, youth employment, and skills training for urban youth. YouthBuild Program Director Mario Johnson said the program’s youth were enthusiastic about participating in the “Stop the Bleed” training offered by the Medical Reserve Corps of Dutchess County which included procedures provided by a Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office deputy on what to do during violent encounters, particularly active shooter encounters.
The overall training is part of the AmeriCorps community hours for the participating youth.
“Teen violence is up all over the country, and we want to make sure our community is safe,” Johnson said in explaining the need for the training. The participants are already first aid/CPR certified through Nubian training and have also received OSHA 30 certification. The OSHA training includes workplace safety, hazard identification at job sites, and incident management.
“This training enables them to respond if there is a shooting in the community,” Johnson said, noting that the Nubian youth will be present at many community events starting on July 4th, which he says, is a day with above-average gun violence.
The participants received easily-identifiable red backpacks with supplies including Narcan, bandages, gauze, Quick-Clot hemostatic gauze, and other safety items. The training and supplies were funded by a $2,500 allocation of American Rescue Plan funds provided by City Councilwoman Yvonne Flowers.
“We may not be able to stop the bullets,” Johnson said, “But at least we’ll be able to stop the bleed.”
