Contact: Juan Melli (201) 923-9583 or jmelli@nullhobokennj.gov
HOBOKEN SEEKS VOLUNTEERS TO GROW COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM
The City of Hoboken invites members of the community to join its 100-strong and growing Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). State-certified trainers will hold a series of free CERT classes this fall for up to 60 participants. Those interested in joining CERT can submit an online application at: http://hoboken.
“Our Community Emergency Response Team is made up of residents who care deeply about their neighbors and community,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “Joining CERT is a great way to get involved and to help make your community more resilient.”
Hoboken’s CERT volunteers have been recognized as “Community Preparedness Heroes” by FEMA, and CERT Coordinator Lou Casciano was honored as a Community Preparedness and Resilience “Champion of Change” by the White House.
The City graduated its fifth CERT class in October 2014, bringing the total number of trained volunteers to 106 members.
CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people that they serve. The goal is for emergency personnel to train members of neighborhoods, community organizations, or workplaces in basic response skills. CERT members are then integrated into the emergency response capability for their area. CERT members also participate in assisting with large scale community events, staffing emergency shelters, and various other ways.
If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community’s professional response, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during training. These skills can help save and sustain lives following a disaster until help arrives. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies.
Participation in CERT requires the successful completion of a training course on a range of subject matter specific to emergency response and disaster relief.
All classes will be held at the Multi Service Center, 124 Grand Street starting at 9:30am sharp and concluding at 4:00pm. There will be a 1 hour lunch break between modules. The training schedule is as follows:
10/24/2015 - Disaster preparedness & Fire safety
10/25/2015 - Disaster medical operations 1 & Disaster medical operations 2
11/1/2015 - Light search and rescue operations & CERT organization
11/7/2015 - Disaster psychology & Terrorism in CERT
The final drill and exercise location and date will be announced during the class.
Participants must attend every module of training as well as participate in the final emergency simulation exercise in order to receive certification as a fully trained CERT Team member.
Upon completion of the training, each participant will be issued a CERT Member Emergency Kit