Taking CERT training can be empowering

Editor,

I’m writing to offer public kudos to our South Whidbey Fire/EMS Chief Rusty Palmer and the CERT workshops that he is diligently leading and offering to our community.

CERT — Community Emergency Response Training — is a free weekend class that helps prepare participants for disaster scenarios on the island, including supplies and scenario/response training.

From catastrophic earthquakes to the unforeseen, it’s about educating and empowering the community (you) to be self-sufficient in helping each other in those scenarios. The reality is that in a true disaster scenario, i.e.- South Whidbey Fault Line or Cascadia Subduction Quake, we are likely to be largely “on our own” for weeks or more as response capacity is pinned down and over extended. Are you and your neighbors adequately prepared with a plan?

This program is working to lay the groundwork of community empowerment to help do what is needed and provide knowledge-based support in those pressing times. Guided by Palmer’s decades of experience and passion, the course offers practical training that leaves participants feeling inspired and empowered as community based responders.

There are no age or demographic restrictions to getting CERT trained. While it is no panacea, everyone can play a role in such scenarios, and I have confidence that our community would rise to such a challenge with neighbors helping neighbors. Training and preparation are available now for free, so sign up today, start your planning and get empowered. As the expression goes, “It’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.”

Jake Stewart

Clinton