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issues pertinent to their immediate community. Encouragement of such cohesion may result in participation in • emergency preparedness activities planned by the Neighborhood Commission. Citizen-level emergency preparedness strategies not only enhance residents' self-efficacy for responding to emergency, but they increase the community's perception of security (Lichterman, 2000). The public often serves as "first responders", especially in multi-site disasters where traditional emergency response professionals arrive late because of communication, traffic, or other problems (Glass, 2000). Glass explains that in these types of events, those who die often do so very quickly whereas those who survive sustain minor injuries and are often rescued by bystanders. Training citizens to mitigate the effects of a disaster contributes to speed of recovery of individuals and can result in greater community self-sufficiency (Rosse, 1993). While Falcon Heights is not a large community, two major institutions, the University of Minnesota- St. Paul Campus and the State Fairgrounds, both fall within the city limits and are considered to be at risk of terrorist activity. For residents to perceive themselves or their community to be at risk of a disaster, Slovic • (1990) suggests that three factors must be assessed--dread, familiarity, and exposure. Greater perceptions of threat will arise when an individual perceives that the risk cannot be easily reduced, it is uncontrollable, has the potential for large numbers of people to be exposed to or killed by the risk, when risks are new or unknown to science, and when effects are unknown and delayed. Currently, the nation is faced with the potential for encountering new risks such as biological, nuclear, and chemical attacks. The unfamiliarity with the consequences of such attacks may increase the perception of threat in some Falcon Heights residents. On the other hand, more familiar risks, like natural disasters, may still result in increased perception of threat because of the uncontrollable nature of the disaster and the potential for widespread harm to property, health, and safety. Social support has been evidenced as a contributing factor in perceiving risk and taking action in a disaster situation. Perry, Lindell, and Greene (1981) suggest that people look to others during the process of evaluating a potential threat. The greater one's contacts and ties to the community, the more information they will receive regarding how to respond to a threat. When researching the factors that lead to evacuating during a • hurricane, Raid, Norris, and Ruback (1999) discovered that residents with stronger perceived social support 3S