WHEN A FIRE destroyed several homes on the 300 block of Lake Avenue in January, residents said they felt helpless not being able to do more to help their neighbors during the initial stages of the emergency.

A new training program might help change that by empowering people to respond to people's emergency needs in the face of a disaster.

The city's first Resident First Responder Training will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 9 and April 12, at the American Red Cross.

The two-day training program is designed to give residents basic skills needed to respond to their neighbors' immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster, before emergency personnel can make it to the scene.

The training is being offered free of charge by the city's Weed & Seed program, courtesy of grants from St. Mary's Bank and Volunteer NH/Citizens Corps.

North End resident Pat Van Den Berghe was one of the first applicants for the program. She said she sees the program as an opportunity to help herself and her neighbors, and not only in the case of a disaster.

"Imagine yourself at a backyard barbecue and someone falls to the ground and no one knows what to do," she said.

"This training gives you the ability to see if that person can speak and if they can, you will know they are not choking, but may have a cardiac problem. You, as a trained first responder, can perform CPR if necessary and keep that individual stable until the professionals arrive."

In addition to CPR, training participants will receive first aid and learn how to operate an automated external defibrillator. They will also receive an introduction to emergency services and learn the protocols and procedures followed by fire, police and health personnel during an emergency.

While free, the April Resident First Responder Training is limited to 25 poeple on a first-come, first-served basis. To sign up or learn more, call Community Policing Supervisor Kevin Kincaid at 668-8711, ext. 437, or Weed & Seed Community Liaison Tracy Degges, at 624-6466, ext. 339. Additional training will be held later in the year.

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TARGETING GRAFFITI: There might not be a lot of graffiti in and around Diane Lavigne's Rimmon Heights neighborhood, but that doesn't mean she not does care about the numerous tags seen in the center city and other parts of Manchester.

"I consider the whole city my neighborhood, and I feel for the owners of property who do not want their buildings painted without their permission," she said.

Lavigne was one of two neighborhood residents asked to join a graffiti task force announced last week by Mayor Frank Guinta. The task force is part of a larger action plan put forth by the mayor to combat graffiti -- which some feel actually encourages crime in an area.

Among the tenets of the plan is raising awareness of existing graffiti services in the city, including the free graffiti removal service offered by the highway department. To utilize this service, the affected property owner must complete a request form which can be found at www.manchesternh.gov/CityGov/DPW/HWY/Home.html#policy.

The graffiti task force will hold its first meeting on April 1 at a yet-to-be determined location. To learn more, call James Morris in the Mayor's Office at 624-6500.

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Will Stewart is the community services specialist at NeighborWorks Greater Manchester, a nonprofit dedicated to the revitalization of the city's neighborhoods through the promotion of home ownership, the development of affordable housing and engaging residents in the life of the community. Send your neighborhood news to willnwgm.org.