5.2. SR 01-27-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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OVERVIEW During his 2002 State of the Union address, President W. Bush called upon every American to at least two years of their lives - the equivalent 000 hours - to the service of others. Through the USA Freedom Corps, he wants to help every ~erican answer that call to service by strengthening ~anding service opportunities to protect our to support our communities, and to extend compassion around the world. by the Federal Emergency Management (FEMA), Citizen Corps is the component of USA Freedom Corps that focuses on opporttmities !people across the country to participate in a range to make their families, homes, and safer from the threats of terrorism, crime, [ disasters of all kinds. Citizen Corps also brings a community's first responders, firefighters, health care providers, law enfbrcement, and managers with its volunteer resources. Corps will help people across America take a role in crime prevention, support the medical community, and be better trained of emergency preparedness and response activities. The events of this past motivated many Americans to want to help and to strengthen their communities. >s offers the means for citizens to help communities safer, stronger, and better and to answer the President's call to service. OF CITIZEN CORPS Corps effort will be coordinated at the by Citizen Corps Councils, or a similar body, which will bring together leaders relevant sectors of your community. The Council is to have all decision makers to manage existing volunteer resources, mutually supportive endeavors among the groups, and to direct the overall local Citizen Corps in the community. of the Citizen Corps Councils Section II. Current National Programs Currently, there are five federal programs that are being promoted at the national level to be implemented locally as part of Citizen Corps. The long-term goal is to have every community implement all five programs: ~¢ The Neighborhood Watch Program, funded by the Department of j'ustice (DOJ) and administered by the National Sheriffs' Association, has been reinvigorated to increase the number of groups involved in crime pre- vention and homeland security and preparedness efforts. The goal is to double the number of groups participating in Neighborhood Watch by 2004. Additional informa- tion about registering a watch group or obtaining resources to support Neighborhood Watch efforts is available at www. usaonwatch.org. ~ FEMA's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program provides training in emer- gency preparedness and in basic response techniques to local trainers who in turn train citizens, enabling them to take a more active role in personal and public safety. The goal is to triple the number of citizens who are CERT trained, increasing the number nationwide to 600,000 by 2004. Additional informa- tion on CERT is available at wwvw. training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/cert. ~k The Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) is a pro- gram administered by DOl. The program, which was launched nationwide in spring 2002, provides train- ing for volunteers to perform administrative and non- intervention policing activities to free up law enforce- ment professionals for fronfline duty. Additional information is available at www. policevolunteers.org. · The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will administer a community-based Medical Reserve Corps that will be launched in fall 2002. Through this program, currently practicing and retired volunteers trained in medicine will be able to assist during large-scale emergencies and will augment the emergency medical response community. Medical Reserve Corps volunteers can also play a productive role in meeting pressing but non- emergency public health needs of the community throughout the year. Additional information is available at www. medicalreservecorps.gov.