As the weekend of April 30 approached, the forecast called for severe thunderstorms Friday evening and continue sporadically through Sunday. Friday evening, the class of nearly one hundred Boy and Girl Scouts, including adult leaders, parents, siblings and friends sat anxiously awaiting the start of an unprecedented training event. It would be the single largest TEEN CERT class ever assembled and would be taught completely outdoors. Friday night started off windy, but by 8pm the torrential rain beating on the roof of the pavilion became so intense that the instructors needed to shout to be heard.Four Boy Scout and two Girl Scout troops participated in the emergency preparedness and response training at Indian Camp Creek Park in northern St. Charles County. The specialized training provided students the skills necessary to perform under pressure by developing multi-functional response teams that supplement community emergency services during major disasters. The St. Charles County Teen Community Emergency Response Team (TEEN CERT) program is made up entirely of volunteer citizens and is more than 230 members strong.
While many people will respond to others in need without any training, one goal of the TEEN CERT program is to help these citizens do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves or others in unnecessary danger. With the mandatory 20-hours of training, students learn to manage utilities and put out small fires, and treat the three medical killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating for shock. TEEN CERT also trains students how to provide basic medical aid, search for and rescue victims safely, organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers to be effective, and collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts.
Because the program is not based within any particular city or municipality, but registered as countywide in St. Charles, St. Louis and Lincoln, the TEEN CERT program does not qualify for state funding or Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants through the St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS). The program is free of charge to anyone wanting the training and operates entirely without a budget or funding. The popularity of the St. Charles County program has grown and is out-performing many of the programs that receive local, state and private funding.
Last year, the Boy Scouts of America and US Department of Homeland Security teamed up to develop an initiative called “Emergency Preparedness BSA” as part of the BSA’s 100th anniversary. The Greater St. Louis Area Council BSA and district executives requested the support of the St. Charles County TEEN CERT program to pilot the more advanced emergency preparedness training program to Scouts from the Boone Trails District. With the help of firefighters, paramedics, doctors, and other qualified instructors, the program teaches medical, fire safety, and search and rescue. In addition, the St. Charles program has a very gifted crisis counselor who teaches the psychology aspect of an emergency to the participants.
From the pilot Boy Scout TEEN CERT training that is happening in the Boone Trails District of the Greater St. Louis Area Council, other districts, groups and organizations are requesting the assistance of the TEEN CERT program. The team portion of the curriculum is stressed and expanded on to allow the students a chance to build trusts and share ideas. This can also help individual schools with trained TEEN CERT program graduates to determine if they want to incorporate the program into the school’s Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) as a team or simply for individual student’s education.
The program has three major goals: First, it provides students with a knowledge base on the effects of natural and man-made disasters and their emotional, social, and economic impacts. Secondly, it aims to build decision-making and problem solving skills and strategies to help students make informed decisions regarding readiness, response and recovery and mitigation efforts to reduce loss of life and property. Lastly, the program provides students with hands-on training using reality-driven drills and exercises.
The St. Charles County TEEN CERT program is recognized as a model for other CERT and disaster response and preparedness programs around the nation. The program is open to anyone 12 years and older, including adults. It is the same program as the adult CERT course, but includes a great deal more information and emphasis on team building and emotional health.
