Chapter 8

Creating a Campus-Based Community Emergency Response Team

Creating a campus CERT (C-CERT) provides guidance for a campus interested in developing an on-campus community emergency response team.

While college public safety departments are efficient entities in ordinary times, recent events at campuses across the country have shown that there have been situations where their capabilities have been stretched. Additionally, in the early stages of a widespread disaster, it is extremely probable that not only the campus but also the larger community in which it resides will be on its own and will need to call upon the assistance of its citizens. Communities need to be trained in order to provide an effective supplementary response team to reduce the number of casualties. Campus-community emergency response teams (C-CERT) and student emergency response teams (SERT) have been forming across the country to prepare campus communities to assist themselves in the event of an emergency that depletes the resources of local first responders.

In the early stages of a disaster, it is extremely probable that campus personnel, families, and community members will be on their own. There is a need for a faster and more effective response to reduce the number of casualties. Breeding (2007) states that increasing the citizen’s ability to “prepare, prevent, and respond to terrorist attacks and other emergencies” is a goal of the Department of Homeland Security. This increase on the focus on education and emergency management training of the American people is evidenced by voluntary programs such as CERT, a federally funded program available in most states through Citizens Corp. In 2002, President George W. Bush established the USA Freedom Corps. The Citizens Corps is one group within the USA Freedom Corps, and CERT and SERT are entities of Citizens Corps. President Bush (2004) proclaimed that it was necessary for the future of our country that we “encourage and support the character development of our young people and support institutions that give direction and purpose: our families, our schools, and our faith-based and community organizations.” He appealed to all citizens to commit to 2 years of volunteer service for the betterment of our society.

But, as Harris (2005) states, perhaps the overarching reason that emergency management planning is important is that disaster management has become a “national priority in the post-9/11 era” (p. 24). On January 21, 2009, (DHS, 2009) the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Janet Napolitano, issued her action directives for DHS, which included focusing on the missions critical to the department: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. She has been an advocate of the CERT program and a host of other partnerships, which bring together the resources of the federal, state, and local governments in meeting this mission.

The recommendation is for community members to receive first aid training in order to develop a community’s capability to provide basic medical assistance during the immediate post-disaster phase until professional assistance becomes available. The premise is that trained individuals can help themselves and their neighbors before emergency personnel are able to get to them (Angus, Pretto, & Abrams, 1993; Crippen, 2001; Kano, Siegel, & Bourque, 2005). The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has already begun to train its members in CERT and encourages learning institutions to integrate CERT training programs (Community in Action, 2004).

Hart (2004) suggests that campus-based CERT programs can provide opportunities for students to become empowered by the knowledge they receive, which will enable them to not only help themselves but also their neighbors. Through active participation in CERT, students increase the chances of their survival and those around them. In addition to learning a skill set that will enable students to participate in activities that will prove beneficial if the campus community should find itself in a state of emergency, through participation in CERT students benefit from service learning in their communities and this in turn increases our “social capital” (Bush, 2004; Sanders, 2003). Service learning provides a platform for “education and intellectual achievement as necessary aspects of public education, equally important is a focus on community and civic participation” (Ruggenberg, 1993, p. 13).

In order for a campus to be able to successfully form a campus-based CERT, the following will need to be addressed:

• Support from campus administration
• Support from student participants
• Support from CERT trainers

How will this be accomplished? Who will advocate for the program and the necessary support, including resources? Some college-based CERTs are a subset of the local county CERTs, others provide training independent of the local groups, but all work together in serving their communities when a disaster strikes. CERTs can participate in all phases of disaster management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Organizing a CERT on Your Campus

Such a partnership requires time to develop from a great idea to presenting it to upper administration, to planning, and to logistics. The director of emergency management and director of public safety on your campus need to be behind this initiative in order for it to be successful. The collaborative program requires a dedicated “resource coordinator” acting on behalf of the campus and a coordinator from the CERT. The resource coordinators for this and any campus/community collaborative project need to be flexible, possess excellent interpersonal skills and high energy, and sustain a strong motivation for the program to succeed. It is a good idea to have formal agreements written and signed to define the responsibilities of each partner. This is simply to define the expectations up-front so that there are no surprises later.

Logistics

After the resource coordinator on your campus and the CERT coordinator have committed to working together, decisions need to be made regarding training. Ideally, the training will be conducted on the campus at a time most convenient for students. After training dates are confirmed with the local CERT and the campus resource coordinators, an announcement of the program must take place to notify the students of the initiative in order to secure student volunteers. Working with the campus public relations committee will ensure that an effective message is created and delivered. Suggested venues are as follows: provide a web presence with the capability to capture names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails of interested students (potential CERT members); use social media outlets to do the same; create an e-mail message to be sent out through campus e-mail that announces the new CERT program and directs potential volunteers to the web page where they can enter their contact information; create a paper brochure that can be distributed to students who attend other campus events such as student activity sessions; hold a public information meeting led cooperatively by the campus resource coordinator, emergency management director, and/or public safety representative, as well as the CERT representative, to articulate the vision to potential volunteers. If the CERT training program is to begin in September, the web presence, the message coming from the office of public relations, and the paper brochures need to be in place by mid-summer at the latest; the student information session should be held at least a week or two prior to the intended start of the CERT training but after the e-mail announcement is delivered by public relations. The likelihood of participation of college students is high if consistent with the research (Larsson, Martensson, & Alexanderson, 2002) that shows participation in first aid training correlates with a young age and higher levels of education.

Training

You may consider starting with a team of 20 student volunteers for each September. The standard CERT format utilizing FEMA materials typically covers disaster preparedness, basic first aid, light search and rescue, small fire suppression, disaster psychology, mass sheltering, and disaster scene organization. A classroom will be needed for lectures and hands-on exercises. Fire suppression exercises will be conducted outdoors. Once the 8-week training is completed, the team might meet monthly for training reviews or organizational meetings. CERT is a federally funded program through Citizen Corps. All classes are free of charge.

Evaluation

As with most campus programs, an assessment will be required to review the program. The campus and CERT coordinators will evaluate and make decisions for the future of your CERT based on the number of volunteers for the CERT program, participation throughout the semester, availability of CERT trainers, funding, and other variables.

How the Project Relates to Student Learning

Berg, Melaville, and Blank (2006) found that “community engagement, together with school efforts, promotes a school climate that is safe, supportive, and respectful and that connects students to a broader learning community” (p. 2). The student volunteers will learn firsthand how their efforts can provide a safer environment. Through their work with CERT, they will understand the importance of having an effective strategy in place for the activation of citizens in the event of a widespread crisis. They will learn how their local, state, and federal government agencies work together to provide for the safety of the citizens of the United States and its visitors. Volunteering in this capacity for the good of the community will help to develop strong personal character and a compassion for their community. Through CERT, neighborhoods and community colleges may create citizens who are engaged and committed to the success of their communities. Students develop a sense of empowerment, a can-do attitude that becomes omnipresent in all that they do—work, school, increased satisfaction in themselves and in their surroundings. This hands-on volunteer program can initiate an opportunity for lifetime citizenry. Becoming involved, in a program such as CERT, encourages students to connect as citizens to the larger local community and, therefore, increases social capital. For additional information on campus-based CERT, contact a local CERT or find a host of resources at: http://www.c-cert.msu.edu/resources.htm.

References

Angus, D., Pretto, E., & Abrams, P. S. (1993). Recommendations for life-supporting first aid training of the lay public for disaster preparedness. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 8, 157–160.

Berg, A. C., Melaville, A., & Blank, M. (2006). Community and family engagement: Principals share what works. Washington, DC: Coalition for Community Schools.

Breeding, D. C. (2007). Defining the role of the environmental health profession in Homeland Security. Journal of Environmental Health, 69(6), 41–45.

Bush, G. W. (2002). Remarks on the citizens corps in Knoxville. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 38(15), 582–586.

Bush, G. W. (2004). Proclamation 7834—National character counts week, 2004. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 40(43), 2455–2455.

Crippen, D. (2001). The World Trade Center attack—Similarities to the 1988 earthquake in Armenia: Time to teach the public life-supporting first aid? Critical Care, 5(6), 312–314.

Department of Homeland Security. (2009). Secretary Napolitano issues first in a series of action directives. Press Release. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1232576802004.shtm

Harris, P. (2005). Emergency training takes CENTER STAGE. TD Magazine, 59(11), 24–31.

Hart, A. (2004). Student emergency response training program. Officer Review Magazine, 43(9), 13–14.

Kano, M., Siegel, J. M., & Bourque, L. B. (2005). First-aid training and capabilities of the lay public: A potential alternative source of emergency medical assistance following a natural disaster. Disasters, 29(1), 58–74.

Larsson, E., Martensson, M., & Alexanderson, K. (2002). First-aid training could improve risk behavior and enhance bystander actions. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 17, 134–141.

Ruggenberg, J. (1993). Community service learning: A vital component of secondary school education (p. 13). New York: Moral Education Forum.

Sanders, M. G. (2003). Community involvement in schools: From concept to practice. Education and Urban Society, 35(2), 161–180.