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Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training of High-Risk Teens in the Community of Watts, South Los Angeles, 2013–2014

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2017

Shamika Ossey ,
Sharon Sylvers ,
Sona Oksuzyan ,
Lisa V Smith ,
Douglas Frye ,
Leila Family ,
Jannah Scott  and
Jan B King
Shamika Ossey
Affiliation:
Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Public Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California
Sharon Sylvers
Affiliation:
Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Public Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California
Sona Oksuzyan*
Affiliation:
Community Health Services (CHS), Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California
Lisa V Smith
Affiliation:
Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology (OHAE), Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California
Douglas Frye
Affiliation:
Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology (OHAE), Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California
Leila Family
Affiliation:
Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology (OHAE), Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California
Jannah Scott
Affiliation:
Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships, US Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC
Jan B King
Affiliation:
Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Public Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Sona Oksuzyan, Community Health Services (CHS), Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept was initially developed for adult members of the community to help prepare for disasters and minimize damage when disasters occur. CERTs also served as a tool for building community capacity and self-sufficiency by supporting a diverse group of people working together in dealing with challenges affecting their communities. The novel approach to CERTs described here sought to involve high-risk youth from low-socioeconomic status communities in CERTs and first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to help them build ties with communities, stay off the streets, and become leaders in the community. It also helped to provide different perspectives on life, while building more resilient communities better prepared to minimize damage when a disaster strikes. After the successful launch of the first high-risk teen CERT cohort in Watts (27 CERT-trained and 14 first aid/CPR-trained), the project was expanded to other community groups and organizations. Seven additional cohorts underwent CERT and first aid/CPR training in 2013 through 2014. This initiative increased CERT visibility within South Los Angeles. New partnerships were developed between governmental, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations and groups. This model can be used to expand CERT programs to other communities and organizations by involving high-risk teens or other high-risk groups in CERT training. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:605–609)

Keywords

disaster preparednesscommunity emergency response team (CERT)community preparednessteen engagementcommunity strengthening
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 11 , Issue 5 , October 2017 , pp. 605 - 609
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2017 

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