ACKNOWLEGEMENT
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
We owe so much to our presenters and team of professional instructors for their time and dedication to train our communities how to be safer and more secure in times of emergency or a disaster. A Heartfelt THANK YOU.
THANK YOU SUPPORTERS
Thank you to our major funders, the Calgary Foundation, Statesman Corporation, Homes by Horch, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, The United Way (Calgary) and TC Energy who recognized the benefits of having citizens with emergency preparedness skills, knowledge, and training to care for themselves, family, and community. We also appreciate the kind assistance of faithful individuals and donors for their continued support.
CERT Canada owes a debt of gratitude to CERT US who share their training with generosity. We endeavor to keep our training materials updated and in-line with both their resources as well as consistent with Alberta and Canadian emergency documents.
We appreciate all the varied support for Bridges of Love's initiatives. Thank you!
CERT History
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) developed the CERT program after examining the civilian response to disasters in Mexico and Japan in 1985. The LAFD recognized that citizens are likely to be on their own during the early stages of disaster. Under these circumstances, family members, co-workers, and neighbors will often spontaneously come to the aid of each other. While untrained volunteers can be very effective in aiding others, their lack of training puts them at risk for injury or death.
CERT became a national program in 1993. There are now CERT programs in all 50 states, including many tribal nations and U.S. territories. Each is unique to its community and all are essential to building a Culture of Preparedness in the United States. There are over 2,700 local CERT programs nationwide and more than 600,000 people have trained since CERT became a national program.