St. Charles County Citizen Corps Council Seeks Volunteers to Strengthen Homeland Security Effort

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Rita Konertz-Lee, Secretary/Treasurer
St. Charles County Citizen Corps Council
(636-332-0790 or 636-279-1726)
(cstarsc@hotmail.com)

St. Charles County Citizen Corps Council Seeks Volunteers to Strengthen Homeland Security Effort

(March 3, 2008 – St. Charles County, MO) Homeland security begins at home. At least that is the assertion of St. Charles County Citizen Corps Council, which is continuing to grow throughout the county to strengthen local communities against the dangers of terrorism, crime and natural disasters.

The formation of Citizen Corps on a national level is the result of selflessness and heroism that followed the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. As a result, people began to question: how such a disaster might be prevented in the future, and if such another disaster should occur, how they could best prepare for and respond to it. Citizen Corps was created to help all Americans answer these questions through public education and outreach, training, and volunteer service.

"Citizen Corps is a critical component of our work to prepare the homeland by getting citizens prepared, trained and involved," said Tracy Henke, Executive Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Grants and Training, and Chair of the National Citizen Corps Council. "We firmly believe, as does our President, that everyone has the ability to help out their community in their own special way. The success of this endeavor is totally dependent on the spirit of volunteerism in the state of Missouri – we can’t do this without engaging volunteers in each community," added Henke.

"The primary goal of the Citizen Corps Council is to create and support a network of community-based volunteer efforts, utilizing existing networks and organizations," said Mark Rosenblum, Chairman of the St. Charles County Citizen Corps Council, "to make their communities safer from threats of all types, educate the public on safety, protection and prevention, and to spearhead volunteer and educational efforts." The Council also brings together firefighters, emergency health care providers, law enforcement, and emergency managers with volunteer resources. "This organized network allows professional first responders to focus on saving lives during an emergency, and empowers the Citizen Corps volunteers to quickly mobilize and focus on tasks such as staffing shelters for disaster victims, traffic control or debris removal," added Rosenblum.

The St. Charles County Citizen Corps Council coordinates the efforts of programs such as Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Fire Corps, Medical Reserve Corps, Neighborhood Watch, and Volunteers in Police Service, as well as groups such as the American Red Cross, American Legion, Civil Air Patrol, Department of Education, National Fire Protection Association, Points of Light Foundation and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, just to name a few.

Since the creation of Citizen Corps in January 2002, DHS has worked in close collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the fire service community to develop programs that provide an integrated approach to citizen participation.

• There are over 2,000 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs across the country that offer a minimum of 20 hours of hand-on instruction for citizens in emergency preparedness, disaster medical operations, fire safety, and basic search and rescue. CERT helps train citizens to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community. The program focuses on preparing communities to be able to respond to acts of terrorism or other disasters that breach the security and safety of their citizens. The best defense is a strongly interconnected community that is able to handle a disaster or an act of terrorism. Your local community is in the best position to determine appropriate strategies for integrating service and volunteering into homeland security efforts. There are several CERT programs in the St. Charles County area: Cottleville, Dardenne Prairie, Lake Saint Louis, St. Charles City, St. Charles County, St. Peters/Central County, Weldon Spring, and Wentzville, as well as a St. Charles County Teen CERT program.

• The HHS Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Program has more than 350 units around the country that engage citizen volunteer physicians, nurses, pharmacists and others with an interest in a broad range of skills in medicine, public health and other support fields. MRC coordinates the skills of practicing and retired physicians, nurses and other health professionals as well as other citizens interested in health issues, who are eager to volunteer to address their community's ongoing public health needs and to help their community during large-scale emergency situations.

• One of the oldest and best-known crime prevention concepts in America, the National Neighborhood Watch Program, has registered over 14,000 Watch Programs, many with a revitalized mission to include neighborhood emergency preparedness. In 2002, the Neighborhood Watch Program launched USAonWatch, a program that expands beyond traditional crime prevention and provides resources, education, and tools to neighborhoods on disaster preparedness, emergency response, and terrorism awareness.

• Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) has more than 1,300 registered programs participating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. VIPS provides support and resources for agencies interested in developing or enhancing a volunteer program for citizens who wish to volunteer their time and skills with a law enforcement agency. The program's ultimate goal is to improve the capacity of state and local law enforcement to utilize volunteers.

• Fire Corps, started in December 2004, has nearly 400 registered programs. Fire Corps brings citizens into local fire and emergency service departments to assist in non-operational roles, allowing firefighters and emergency medical responders to focus on critical, life-threatening situations. Through the use of citizen advocates, Fire Corps increases the capacity of volunteer, combination and career fire/EMS departments and creates a vital link between the fire and emergency services and citizens who want to make a difference in their community.

To learn more about the Citizen Corps and volunteer opportunities in St. Charles County, contact the Division of Emergency Management at (636) 949-3023 or the Red Cross at (636) 397-1074.

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