2017-2018 Arcata CERT Accomplishments

In a relatively short period of time (May 2017 - May 2018) Arcata CERT has made significant progress towards fulfilling its mission and vision. During this period, Arcata CERT accomplished the following:

  • Significantly increased CERT team size, with a great variety of relevant expertise being brought to the table (a few more new members are expected after the upcoming August CERT Academy)

  • Began redefining our team goals and team organization

  • Adopted general guidelines for using guided neighborhood emergency preparedness as a vehicle for building bridges among diverse community members

  • Began serving as an incubator and springboard for future County teams; many of our projects and organizational choices are being observed as innovations that could be adopted by other teams

  • Launched several neighborhood preparedness projects:

    • Lazy J Mobile Home Park

    • Sunny Brae

    • Woodland Heights

    • Fickle Hill (city/county; still under consideration)

  • Began supportive projects

    • Critical Businesses and Services (local post-disaster resources)

    • Emergency information resources list (alerts, print, radio, TV, internet (sites, apps), etc.)

    • Dedicated website for team collaboration between meetings

    • Assembly of "go kits" for use as neighborhood level command posts in case of major event

    • Exploration of potential funding sources

    • Established a reference library for emergency management planning

  • Represented the team at the following meetings:

    • Monthly Humboldt CERT Coalition meetings

    • Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group

    • VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster)

  • Did outreach tabling for CERT at the following events:

    • Mad River Community Hospital Disaster Fair

    • Sustainable Living & Preparedness Expo

    • Pony Express Days

  • Team members have also

    • Attended the Arcata tabletop disaster exercise (Matthews Dam failure scenario)

    • Participated in the annual HSU disaster drill

    • Volunteered at the February CERT Academy

    • Participated in several MRCH disaster drills

    • Earned a ham radio license

    • Volunteered to speak on preparedness at an AAUW event next November

    • Presented skills reviews and information updates at team meetings

    •  Four team members were trained as CERT trainers