[Ares-races] Fwd: Citizen Corps E-News Letter

Thu, 18 Apr 2002 08:09:48 -0400

Lloyd,

My understanding is that the Infraguard program is structured to include 
only IT and telecomm industry groups, not citizen volunteers.

We are encouraging our Virginia RACES members to register with FEMA's 
Citizen Corps, and also with CERT, if there are Community Emergency Response 
Teams in organized in their area.  While CERT is common along the west coast 
earthquake belt we have only a few coastal communities in Virginia with CERT 
pilot programs.

The impetus from FEMA is to have CitizenCorps driven and organized by state 
emergency management to trickle down to the local level.  Since there is no 
Federal funding to support this at the present time, there is little or no 
incentive for cash-strapped state EM departments, such as Virginia, to take 
the lead.  There is nothing to keep local governments from going it alone, 
but there is o money in the pot for them...  There may be some money in 2003 
if Congress approves it.

I have attached the latest copy of the CitizenCorps E-News which is sent out 
monthly from FEMA.  You can use the link provided to register or get more 
information on the program.  This will bring you monthly email updates, but 
not much else.

I emailed the program months ago asking a simple question as to how an 
organization can affiliate.  Virginia RACES has 750 members statewide who 
have completed our Basic Operator Course.  Most are interested in homeland 
defense and would be a ready audience for CERT or other training.  I have 
yet to get a reply from the program.

I'm on the waiting list to attend a CERT "Train the Trainer" course for my 
agency, because my county wants to train public works field employees in 
CERT principles and emergency response to terrorism awareness and to 
participate in the TIPS program.

That's at least a start.

73 de KE4SKY
Virginia RACES State Training Officer

>----------------------  Forwarded Message:  ---------------------
Citizen Corps E-News
Vol. 1, Issue 3 (April 9, 2002)

Special Presidential E-News Edition

President Bush Spotlights Citizen Corps in Tennessee Event

On April 8, 2002, the President traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee for
Citizen Corps to highlight the progress being made in communities around
the country involving Americans in service activities that make
communities safer and better prepared for emergencies.  As the President
and local government leaders from around the country stressed, volunteer
participation and innovation can do a great deal to help our communities
mount effective responses to threats of terrorism, crime or other disasters.

What the President Announced:

The President was joined in Knoxville by fourteen local government leaders 
from around the country who have committed to coordinating, expanding and 
creating volunteer opportunities through Citizen Corps.

The President announced the following in Knoxville:

- More than 40 local leaders in cities and counties around the country
have committed to launch Citizen Corps Councils.

- America's mayors, local government leaders and governors will receive
the comprehensive Citizen Corps: A Guide for Local Officials.  This guide 
will instruct them on how to start Citizen Corps Councils in their
communities to build upon their existing crime prevention, disaster
preparedness and public health response activities through volunteer
service. (To download copy of the guide, see the link below.)

- To support the Citizen Corps programs and the creation of Citizen Corps 
Councils, the President has requested $50 million for Citizen Corps in his 
supplemental budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2002.  He has 
already requested $230 million for the Citizen Corps initiative in his 
fiscal year 2003 budget.

- The Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies have 
begun examining ways to include Citizen Corps activities as a factor in 
awarding grants to local and state governments from existing and proposed 
emergency preparedness and response programs.

News You Can Use: Efforts Around the Country

While in Knoxville, President Bush highlighted that city's Citizens'
Police Academy to illustrate how volunteers can help their local
first-responder agencies in times of emergencies. The Knoxville police
academy has trained more than 600 citizens in the past seven years, each
of whom volunteered for 30 hours of police and emergency training. A few
other examples of programs around the country include:

- Orlando, Florida:  Through the "Mayor's Matching Grant Program," seven
Orlando, Florida neighborhood associations have created Community
Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and purchased emergency equipment.

- Placentia, California:  The call for Citizen Corps volunteers has
already gone out in Placentia, California, where they have stepped up
recruiting for their Neighborhood Watch, Community Emergency Response
Team, Volunteers in Police Service, Police Explorers and Radio Amateur
Civil Emergency Services programs.

- Tucson, Arizona:  Two weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 
2001, Mayor Robert Walkup started "Operation Safe Tucson," which now
serves as the local Citizen Corps Council.

- Washington, D.C.:  Mayor Anthony Williams has committed Washington,
D.C.'s Commission on National and Community Service to develop its Citizen 
Corps Council.  The Commission has already convened a meeting with local 
volunteer organizations and local officials to begin their planning 
activities, including their plans for Medical Reserve Corps and Volunteers 
in Police Service programs.

- Los Angeles, California: The City of Los Angeles, California's Citizen
Corps Council will be working with a number of local programs, including
their Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Neighborhood Watch program 
and SafetyNET program.  In 1985, Los Angeles developed what is now a 
national model for the CERT program as a way of offering basic training in 
disaster preparedness and rescue skills in the event of an
earthquake.   SafetyNET is the city's volunteer neighborhood emergency
training program.

Ask Citizen Corps
How can I obtain a copy of Citizen Corps: A Guide for Local Officials?

Everything you need to know about Citizen Corps Councils can be found in
the newly released Citizen Corps Guide for Local Officials, available at
http://www.citizencorps.gov/ccorps.html.  Don't let the title fool you:
councils need to include participation from volunteer, community service
and faith-based groups as well as elected officials and first responders.

As a start (after you read the Guide) contact your mayor's office or work 
with a group that shares your interest in volunteering to find out what is 
happening in your area.

What's Happening At...

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) initiative was the subject of a meeting
held on March 19 at the Department of Health and Human Services for
representatives of numerous professional and volunteer organizations.  Among 
issues raised by the participants were the importance of community-based 
planning and organization, because one model will not fit all situations; 
the need to include volunteers who may still be in health professions 
training, as well as retirees; the importance of supplementing and 
supporting --not disrupting-- effective systems that are already in place; 
the importance of appropriate training for volunteers; and liability, 
licensure and competency.  A guide is being prepared now to help local 
communities establish their own citizen volunteer MRC.

Department of Justice
Word is in from Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) programs around the
country about work volunteers are doing to support law enforcement
agencies, thus freeing police officers to be on the front lines. These
volunteer support activities include assisting with traffic control;
impounding and storing marked abandoned vehicles; booking property;
transporting department vehicles; enforcing handicapped parking; and
processing paperwork.

If you want to know how you can enhance homeland security through your
Neighborhood Watch Program, check out the website,
http://www.usaonwatch.org.  Included in the weekly news updates and
information on that site is an article, "Enhancing Homeland Security
Locally with Neighborhood Watch."  To send information about your
neighborhood watch program -or read about what others are doing-click on
"Keep Us Informed" at http://www.usaonwatch.org. The Department of Justice 
is building on the successes of these programs to develop the national 
training and technical assistance program.

Visit the websites of Citizen Corps partners: Department of Justice (
http://www.usdoj.gov ), Federal Emergency Management Agency (
http://www.fema.gov ), Department of Health and Human Services (
http://www.hhs.gov ), USA Freedom Corps (http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov )

73 de KE4SKY, Regards Ed
(r) 703-280-1247
(w) 703-324-5224
epage [email protected]
Reply to: [email protected]
Board Member, Northern VA FM Association
Virginia State RACES Training Officer

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