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WHY WE NEED A <br />CONTINUING CERT PROGRAM IN 2'005 <br />Gretel Keene <br />INTRODUCTION <br />I will give two main points, <br />together with three examples and a conclusion. <br />1. FALCON HEIGHTS INITIATIVE <br />In 2003, Falcon Heights was proactive and planned Community <br />Emergency Response Teams (CERT). <br />Falcon Heights then began atwo-year investment in the community, put <br />the infrastructure together and implemented the plan. So far fifty <br />people are certified. <br />2005 is the time for the pay-off on the investment. I have seen what <br />happens in communities having no Community Emergency Response <br />Team. <br />~ FIRST EXAMPLE: MN <br />I volunteered for a church disaster response team that handled tornado <br />damage in Minnesota last summer. <br />When we arrived, we met the mayor, who ~'a ad ever ha d, erred t They <br />couldn't tell us what to do. Nothing Like this h PP <br />were not prepared for what happened, he said. <br />He told us the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) <br />couldn't be there because the tornado damage wasn't big enough. The <br />Red Cross and the Baptist Church had come and gone. <br />There was no CERT team in the town. So working in teams of two, we <br />decided where to start. <br />~ SECOND EXAMPLE: IA <br />The second area of work was in Iowa City after the flood last year. The <br />scenario was almost identical. <br />FEMA couldn't come, and the Red Cross had come and left. <br />Two people from the Ba tist Church were there wi~i11 addresses of <br />~-..~ <br />people who needed help. ~ ~ ~~ ~-1 <br />Again there was no Community Emergency Response Team anywhere <br />in sight. <br />