West Virginia Citizen Corps
Prepare. Train. Volunteer.
“What can I do?” “How can I help?”
The West Virginia Citizen Corps program is a state and local initiative created to answer these questions and involve community organizations, individuals and volunteers in building a culture of preparedness. At the state level, the West Virginia Citizen Corps program promotes the message of citizen preparedness and supports the integration of local trained disaster volunteers into the state’s emergency plans. Across the state, local Citizen Corps Councils and volunteers are actively engaged in promoting and enhancing community preparedness.
Nationwide, Citizen Corps Councils and partner programs reach 62% of the total U.S. popluation. In 2011, more than 500 West Virginians participated in Community Emergency Response Training, Psychological First Aid, Highway Incident Safety, Project Lifesaver, and other trainings, drills and exercises.
Regardless of where we live and who we are, we all have a role in making our communities safer, stronger and better prepared. It starts with you. Are you ready?
Impact
Individuals who have volunteered to help in a disaster are more likely to be prepared than those who have not volunteered. (45 % compared to 25%). Volunteers participate in community outreach events, talk to children about being ready, plan and participate in trainings and get the skills they need to help their families and neighbors in the event of a disaster.
In 2011, Citizen Corps funding, training supplies, and other programmatic support reached ALL 55 counties in West Virginia! Twenty one of those counties received $94,702 in grant funding from Volunteer West Virginia. Those counties are: Cabell, Calhoun, Greenbrier, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Hardy, Harrison, Lincoln, Mineral, Monongalia, Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Raleigh, Tyler, Upshur, Wirt, and Wood. (Current as of November 2011)
Please see 2011 Citizen Corps Program Highlights to learn more.
Program Areas
ReadyWV
ReadyWV is an online tool and public education campaign that helps West Virginians know what to do before, during and after an emergency. The web site and materials list potential hazards and provide preparedness checklists, kids' activities, and more. To order bookmarks, family emergency guides, or other supplies for your public meeting or organization, contact Gina.L.Namay@wv.gov
Community Development
Citizen Corps helps communities develop preparedness and response systems through grant support, training scholarships, and opportunities to participate in federal, state, and local trainings and exercises.
CERT
CERT members get training to help first responders during an incident, participate in search and rescue efforts, and provide crowd control at public events, along with addressing a variety of locally identified needs.
Youth Preparedness
In West Virginia, teen and adult volunteers in schools and youth groups engage kids in preparedness and safety activities through programs like Teen Community Emergency Response Training (Teen CERT). Teen CERT prepares youth to help themselves, their families, and their schools in the event of an emergency.
September: National Preparedness Month
During this month, Citizen Corps and other volunteer programs organize events and trainings to improve people’s ability to help themselves and others during an emergency.
National Service Partnerships
Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America national service members help strengthen West Virginia’s emergency preparedness at the local level. They distribute preparedness kits to home-bound seniors, coordinate emergency response trainings, and design disaster-related service projects.