Learning how to save lives benefits residents and property owners: the Arizona Multihousing Association sponsored family safety education programs that helped build both camaraderie and awareness among residents in their communities.

The toddler was curious. Catching his eye and attention was the sunlight reflecting off the sparkling water of the outdoor swimming pool at his Phoenix apartment community on this warm spring day.

He started walking slowly toward the deep end of the pool. When he was about 15 feet from the water, his mother spotted him. She immediately jumped out of her chair and raced toward him.

Fortunately, she was able to grab his right arm and pull him from danger.

Ironically, this occurred while his mother, among residents of their community and others who live in their neighborhood, was listening to a free, family safety education presentation sponsored by the Phoenix-based Arizona Multihousing Association (AMA).

The American Red Cross water safety instructor noticed the incident out of the corner of her eye while she addressed the audience that was assembled poolside. She congratulated the mother for her quick response. The instructor added that this was a perfect example of why parents and other caregivers must remain vigilant at all times when children or other individuals are near water.

This presentation was one of approximately 155 made on weekends in April and May at participating AMA-member communities in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas.

Project S.A.F.E. (Safety Awareness Family Education) also provided instruction from specially trained AMA volunteers on how to prevent lost or abducted children and adults, the latter who suffer from Alzheimer's and other mind-impairing illnesses. The tips came from the Nation's Missing Children Organization and Center for Missing Adults.

Agents from Farmers Insurance distributed their very popular, free fingerprinting identification kits and family safety pamphlets. Additionally, they answered questions from the audience about renter's insurance and other types of insurance.

The education presentation, which ran approximately 40 minutes, was the highlight of joint resident/neighborhood social get-togethers hosted by the apartment communities.

Many communities provided free food, prizes donated by area merchants and music as an extra inducement to get residents and nearby neighbors to attend. Some communities invited the local fire and police departments to discuss safety issues and view fire engines and squad cars. Still others held blood or food drives and supplied carnival and kiddie rides and games.

Providing Value for the Residents

The AMA Board of Directors created its newest community outreach program earlier this year.

"Project S.A.F.E. was one way to address the resident-retention problem in soft Arizona apartment markets while helping combat two serious safety issues," said AMA Executive Vice President Terry Feinberg.

"We wanted a program that would enable members to show more value for present and future customers--especially those with youngsters--by educating them about pool drownings and missing persons. It also would help the industry's image with government officials, the news media and opinion leaders by providing a needed educational service to the general public."

The Valley of the Sun, where swimming pools and spas are very common, leads the nation in pool drownings: 56 deaths were reported last year, and through May of this year another 15 had occurred. Phoenix Fire Department spokesperson Juliet Falevitch said that 27 of last year's countywide fatalities occurred at apartment properties. One neighborhood in Phoenix, she said, has the dubious distinction of being "the drowning capital of the nation." There, four deaths were reported during 2002 and at least one so far in 2003.

Additionally, the Phoenix area is experiencing an increase in missing persons, including several high-profile child abductions and more senior citizens wandering away from home. A typical month finds approximately 650 to 700 missing person reports filed with the Phoenix Police Department Missing Person Bureau, said spokesman Detective Tony Morales.

"Water accidents and missing person incidents at a rental community can traumatize and devastate parents, residents and onsite staff," said Pam Sahlin-McCarthy of The YF Group, who co-chaired the presentation. "Then, you add potential liabilities and public relations problems for the [property owners]."

She said Project S.A.F.E. was a logical way to address concern.

Many properties that participated in the program belong to the AMA's FIVE STAR PROGRAM, a voluntary special certification. FIVE STAR is designed to help improve the image and acceptance of multifamily properties in neighborhoods, thereby creating more value for owners and managers.

FIVE STAR communities operate with a higher standard of management practices and neighborhood involvement than basic AMA membership requires. Among key requirements is active membership in a neighborhood or homeowners' association, block watch or group by onsite management.

Each property must participate in at least two activities annually that mutually benefit the rental community, residents, homeowners and businesses in the neighborhood. Participation in Project S.A.F.E. counts as one of these events.

To help publicize the project, the AMA joined a partnership of Phoenix area organizations with the same water-safety Objective. These included The Arizona Republic and its Web site, azcentral.com; television station KPNX; the Phoenix Fire Department; Spanish-language newspaper LaVoz and the Salt River Project, a Valley water and electricity utility.

Worthwhile Education

Altogether, approximately 4,000 people attended Project S.A.F.E. events.

"We reached a very appreciative and attentive group of children, parents, grandparents and seniors," said Sahlin-McCarthy. "If our safety messages prevented even one drowning, water-related accident or missing person, then Project S.A.F.E. was well worth it."

While attendance varied at each property, apartment managers found the overall education worthwhile. Typical was the assessment from Linda Kelly, manager of Sun River Apartment Homes in Tucson.

"There was good interaction between the speakers and my residents," she said. "They learned what they came for. The feedback was positive."

Kelly said that events such as this "help in resident retention, especially in a tight market. We're showing [residents] the extra value they receive by living at our property. We care about them and their families."

Another property manager, Bry Carter of Monterra in Phoenix, called Project S.A.F.E. "excellent" because the "topics were of importance" to the audience. Among those in attendance was her city council member.

The AMA received recognition and thanks for conducting the training in proclamations signed by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and the mayors of seven cities.

The Glendale mayor's office was so impressed with the program that it asked the AMA to make two special Project S.A.F.E. presentations during its citywide July observance of Senior Citizen Safety Month.

How To Host Your Own Safety Program

Putting together the two-month, statewide presentations involved considerable planning by Pam Sahlin-McCarthy of The YF Group, her volunteer committee and Arizona Multihousing Association (AMA) staff members. After developing the action plan in early 2003, they had to secure participation from the American Red Cross, Nation's Missing Children Organization and Center for Missing Adults, and Farmer's Insurance, whose fingerprint identification kit and other safety information were recommended by several local safety advocates.

Next was to publicize the upcoming spring project to member management companies and their properties through association publications and its Web site. About 155 communities signed up and paid a nominal fee to participate.

Program planners recruited approximately 250 AMA volunteers from the regular and associate membership to help run the event. Some served as team leaders who worked directly with the individual properties. Some helped organize and publicize their events to their residents and the neighborhoods. Other volunteers received special speaker training from the missing persons organization so they could deliver the information at the presentations.

Farmers Insurance arranged to have local agents staff each event and assist with the missing person speeches and fingerprinting of children and interested adults.

In conjunction with Project S.A.F.E. (Safety Awareness Family Education), the AMA's Independent Rental Owners Council and Government Affairs Committee are proposing either a state law or a series of municipal ordinances that require property owners of single-family rental homes to provide fences around their pools, as now required for apartment communities.

The suggestion won the editorial support of Phoenix's daily newspaper The Arizona Republic, which called the idea "... common sense, a moral responsibility." The editorial added, "It's not every day that businesses suggest additional expensive regulations, costs that might not immediately and easily be passed on to consumers."

Overall, Project S.A.F.E. achieved its objectives. In so doing, it helped strengthen and improve the role and image of both the multifamily housing industry and AMA in Arizona while providing more value to present and future residents.

Water Safety Tips from the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross issued these water safety tips:

* Never leave a child or special needs person unobserved around water. Your eyes must be on the person at all times.

* Enclose a pool or spa with a self-locking, self-closing fence with vertical bars no more than 4 inches wide.

* Never leave furniture or other items near the pool or spa fence that would enable a child to climb over the fence.

* Do not allow running or rough-housing by a pool or spa.

* Always keep basic lifesaving equipment by the pool and know how to use it.

* Keep a telephone or cellular phone poolside for emergency use.

* Post CPR instructions and 9-1-1 emergency numbers in the pool area.

* Post pool-use instructions in the pool area.

* Always swim with a buddy.

* Remember: It only takes 1 inch of water covering your mouth and nose to drown.

Missing Person Prevention Tips

The Nation's Missing Children Organization and Center for Missing Adults issued these missing person prevention tips:

* Make sure your child knows his or her full name, street address, birth date and parents' or guardians' names and home and work telephone numbers.

* Teach your child how to use a regular and cellular telephone.

* Instruct your child that if a stranger or person not authorized by you tells your child to go with that person, back away and yell as loud as possible three times, "You are not my dad/mom!" to draw attention to the situation.

* Create a special code word known only by your child, parents, caregiver or persons authorized to be with your child. If others who do not know the code want the youngster to go with them, instruct the child not to go with the person and yell three times, "You are not my mom/dad!" to alert passersby.

* Instruct your child's school not to release your child to anybody who does not know the youngster's secret code word.

* Never put your child's name on his or her clothing, backpack or bike since this gives a stranger an opportunity to talk with your child.

* Create "password access" to your family Web site.

* Instruct your child that when they are home alone, never open the door to any stranger, including a person claiming to be a police officer.

* Know the names, addresses and telephone numbers of your child's friends.

* Make sure your youngster tells you where he or she is going when they leave home.

Wayne Kaplan is Director of Community Relations for the Arizona Multihousing Association. He can be reached by calling 800/326-6403 or e-mailing [e-mail].