While walking through the Health building, students may have noticed a couple of flyers for something called C.E.R.T.
C.E.R.T., or Community Emergency Response Team, is a Citizen Corps organization that trains average citizens in proper disaster preparedness.
The training that C.E.R.T. provides has many benefits, both for those who receive the training and those who know the trainees. It is helpful at home, workplace, and wherever else a trainee may be.
When receiving training, new team members are taught how to handle many disaster situations, such as earthquakes, weather disasters (tornados, etc.), fires, and many others, when regular emergency responders (police, fire, EMS, etc.) cannot be called or respond to the situation immediately. C.E.R.T. trains beginners in basic first aid, CPR, triaging, scene assessment, crowd control, and other necessary life-saving skills.
Outside of this basic training, the local team may also provide extra training to broaden their members’ knowledge in the area of disaster preparedness.
If students want to join, there are many teams across the United States, so it is fairly easy to find one locally. There are, according to their website, over 1,100 communities and growing that have formed teams and listed themselves on the C.E.R.T. Directory. Anyone who is interested may join.
One community happens to be Bedford. To join, contact Kenneth Kilman of the Bedford Township Team via email or telephone: klkilman@aol.com or (419)-261-4020.
There is much more to learn about C.E.R.T. and how it operates. That information can be provided by the local team or the C.E.R.T. website: http://citizencorps.gov/cert/about.shtm.
There is currently one event still being advertised for C.E.R.T.: Citizen’s Preparedness Exercise. Saturday, November 5. As the flyer put it: “Victims needed” (people from the community pretend to be injured to help the new team members with their training).
To learn more, or to register for this event, contact the Monroe County Emergency Management via the web: www.co.monroe.mi.us/emd, or by phone: (734)-240-3135. Anyone, C.E.R.T. team member or not, can participate in this event.
C.E.R.T. is a fantastic group to join, with many opportunities for new and old members. With the CPR and other life-saving skills training as a part of its program, C.E.R.T. also looks fantastic on job and university applications.
After becoming a member, students gain leadership skills, a new knowledge base in disaster preparedness, new friends, and a greater sense of belonging.
