Peachtree City Teen CERT
Peachtree City CERT continues to expand its Teen program, which was launched in 2009. The Teen CERT program is modeled after the national CERT concept. The goals of Teen CERT are to provide young adults with basic knowledge of disasters and how they impact our community, to build their decision-making and problem solving skills regarding readiness and response, and to provide them with hands-on training using reality-driven drills and exercises.
The program is aimed at young adults aged 13 to 17 and is delivered in a "Summer Camp" format that meets daily for a week at the police department, culminating in drill station evaluations. In the program, teens learn how to:
- Identify the types of hazards most likely to affect their homes and communities
- Take steps to prepare themselves and their families for a disaster
- Apply basic fire suppression strategies and safety measures
- Learn and apply techniques for opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating shock
- Conduct patient assessments and provide first aid under simulated emergency conditions
- Search for and rescue victims safely
Unique to Peachtree City Teen CERT is the inclusion of CPR/AED certification within the program and also the training of students on "moulage" or special effects make-up used to simulate injuries on disaster exercise victims.
In 2011, 24 teens graduated from the Teen CERT Summer Camp that took place in July. To date, 84 teens have participated and graduated from the program. A good number of teens have joined the program because their parents are CERT members. But we are also seeing where parents themselves become interested in joining CERT after seeing the value of the training their children receive.
The Teen CERT program has been very successful and continues to be a great asset to the Peachtree City CERT program in general. A high point on 2011 was the development and implementation of the Teen "Train-the-Trainer" (T4) class, which took place in February. Five Teen members completed the T4 class and provided instructor support during the July summer camp. During 2011, many of the Teen CERT graduates volunteered as victims in the adult disaster exercise and also joined adult members in events such as the July 4th Parade and the Light Up The Night Toy Drive.
