Newport News Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

The Newport News CERT program was selected for the 2014 Governor's Award for Outstanding Community Organization for the Commonwealth and has received more than a dozen state and federal awards. Each year, members of the NN CERT program volunteer over 3,000 hours to train and prepare for disasters and emergencies and to teach others about disaster preparedness. The group also supports large and small events, such at the One City Marathon.  

To join, you must complete an application and background check and be at least 18 years old. All classes are free and funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. To obtain an application, either visit the Newport News Division of Emergency Management website or contact the NN CERT Program Manager, Dana Perry, at dperry@nngov.com.

The courses are taught once in the spring in a week-long daytime class that runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for four days with a Saturday final exercise which challenges the class to work as a team and demonstrate the skills they have learned during the course of the week. The exercise begins 9 a.m. and is generally concluded by noon, with a one-hour pizza party where participants receive their certificates and credentials.

 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), began promoting nationwide use of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept in 1994. Since then, CERT’s have been established in hundreds of communities across the nation.

CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people they serve. The goal is for emergency personnel to train members of neighborhoods, community organizations, or workplaces in basic emergency skills. CERT members are then integrated into the emergency response capability for their area.

If an emergency event overwhelms or delays the City’s first responders, CERT members can assist their neighbors by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during training. These skills can help save and sustain lives until help arrives. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies.

CERT members maintain and refine their skills by participating in exercises and activities. They can attend supplemental training opportunities offered by the Newport News Division of Emergency Management in human and pet sheltering operations and emergency supplies distribution centers for residents. CERT members can also help with future CERT classes as instructors, outreach activities for the community, moulage artists, and actors in disaster simulations.