Montgomery County (Maryland) CERT and their academic partners were selected as Stage 1 awardees of the Civic Innovation Challenge, a national research and action competition in the smart and connected communities domain. Their project focuses on training community members to work with expert systems in identifying COVID-19 and other disaster-related risks posted on social media. By replicating and extending their proven approach nationwide, they provide situational awareness for emergency management by using Human-AI Teaming.  The team has been awarded $50,000 to support the refinement of their project and has the opportunity to compete for awards of up to $1 million to support project implementation. The academic partners are the Technology & Information Policy Institute at the Moody College of Communication and Good Systems at The University of Texas at Austin, the PamplinCollege of Business at Virginia Tech, The Department of Cybersecurity at Brigham Young University, and the Department of Information Sciences and Technology in Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University.  More about their project is available at orgcommtech.org/nsf-civic/ The Civic Innovation Challenge supports ready-to-implement pilot projects that have the potential to produce scalable, sustainable, and transferable solutions to address community-identified challenges in the mobility and resilience domains. The competition is funded with $11 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Project teams comprise civic partners—such as local, state and tribal government officials, and non-profit and community leaders—working together with researchers. More information about the competition and the Stage 1 winners can be found at nsfcivicinnovation.org/stage-1-awardees/

So here we are… approaching the end of 2020. I am sure this year will be remembered by all of us for its challenges and threats. We have all been touched by COVID-19 and the changes to our lives that followed. I am grateful that our members and our program have supported each other rand continued our mission throughout this year. CERTs know how to improvise, adapt, and overcome, and our Montgomery County people have proven that in many ways during 2020. On behalf of Division Chief Kelley and myself, we offer a special tip of the helmet to our MC CERT training committee and instructors. This year they revised the entire CERT Basic curriculum for the new FEMA guidelines, and then figured out how to successfully deliver the class online. Well done! Our COVID-19 Task Force and Go Team worked seamlessly with the county agencies to deliver food and supplies to hundreds of residents. And most important, our rank and file CERT members practiced safe COVID-19 protocols in their home and work lives. It is my heartfelt wish the 2021 brings us all happier times, and we can once again gather together as team members and friends. Until then please stay safe, stay in touch, take advantage of our online training and meetings, and enjoy a safe and happy holiday season and new year. Greg

At our November general membership meeting, Jim Resnick shared information and suggestions for what you can do to keep yourself and your community safe from fires or other disasters at home. He also covered fire prevention and fire safety, carbon monoxide prevention and CO safety, the appropriate (and inappropriate) use of fire extinguishers, fall prevention, and other related topics. Jim has been a fire and rescue professional with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) for more than 45 years.  He started as a member of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad in 1975 where he is currently a Life Captain, having previously served as Deputy Chief.  He also worked as a full-time, career firefighter and paramedic for 28 years with MCFRS, retiring from the rank of Battalion Chief in 2014. Please see the attached presentation from the meeting. Fire-Prevention-and-Fire-Safety-Montgomery-CERT-12-November-2020Download

Sue MacLane of Arlington County CERT was generous enough to visit our October Zoom general membership meeting and give a wonderful and informative presentation on Psychological First Aid.  Please see the attached PowerPoint, as well as the two files for making a PFA Pocket guide. One of the files is an instruction for creating it. The last page on the guide has resource information. Sue mentioned a few books and other resources during the training and noted that there were some questions about them in the chat. The Unthinkable- Who Survives when Disaster Strikes and Why- Amanda Ripley (also on audio tape) https://www.amandaripley.com/the-unthinkable How to Make Stress Your Friend- Kelly McGonigal -TED Talk The Resiliency Advantage- Al Siebert PhD- https://resiliencycenter.com/ The Gift of Fear- Gavin deBecker- https://gdba.com/ Breathe2Relax App: Apple-https://apps.apple.com/us/app/breathe2relax/id425720246 Breathe2Relax App: Android- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.t2health.breathe2relax Psychological First-Aid-S-MacLane-10-20-pdfDownload PFA-Quick-tipsDownload PFA Guide InstructionsDownload

The Montgomery County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program is Now Pre-Registering for the Online CERT Basic #20-02 Class! We are pleased to announce the Online CERT Basic #20-02. This class is an important first step in the CERT Basic training program. Please read the following information and requirements carefully before you pre-register for the course using the link listed below: In order to maximize class interaction, this course will be limited to the first 25 participants who register. Registrations are on a first-come, first-served basis.This is an online learning course only. There will NOT be any on-ground classes held at the 100 Edison Park Drive, Gaithersburg, MD location.This online course consists of eight (8) Sessions.Participants who complete/participate in all eight sessions will receive an Montgomery County CERT Basic online certificate and will be eligible for the CERT Basic Hands-on practicum course (when available).We will be using the Zoom video conference platform for all training sessions.The initial session on October 28th will include information for those new to Zoom. However, we strongly recommend you download the zoom app and test it if you are new to the technology. There are also great resources you can access by visiting the Zoom Website.After you pre-register, you will receive a separate confirmation email with the details of the class.If you have other members of your household who wish to attend, they must register separately.Additional details with the Zoom meeting links will be provided once your registration has been confirmed.Remember, class slots are limited. Therefore, please ensure that you can commit to the dates and times prior to pre-registering for this class. Here are the class sessions for the online CERT Basic #20-02 course. (Please do not pre-register if you cannot commit to attend during these dates and times): Wednesday, October 28 7:00 pm – 8:30 pmSaturday, October 31 9:00 am – 12:00 pmWednesday, November 4 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmSaturday, November 7 9:00 am – 12:00 pmWednesday, November 11 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmSaturday, November 14 9:00 am – 12:00 pmWednesday, November 18 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmSaturday, November 21 9:00 am – 12:00 pm There are also 2 documents available that will help prepare you for this class at the following link: CERT Basic FAQ DocumentZoom Instructions Thank you for your interest in the Montgomery County CERT Basic program. If you have additional questions, not covered above, please send an email to registrar@montgomerycert.org Greg St. James- Montgomery CERT Program Manager Buy Tickets Buy Tickets on Eventbrite