Sign Up for a One Hour Course with the City’s Emergency Services Coordinator

Preparing for an emergency is difficult, and where do you start? You can create a go-bag for your car, but what do you put in that bag?

The City is now offering a new service to help Goleta residents answer these questions with its Community Disaster Education Course (or CDE). A CDE is a free, one-hour introductory course that teaches residents how to become more prepared in the event of a disaster. Attendees will learn about multiple topics such as what is expected following a disaster, what they can do to prepare their home and workplace, how to build an emergency bag, and more.

City of Goleta’s Emergency Services Coordinator Michael Baris said, “I’m very happy to be bringing CDEs to Goleta! In my experience, the biggest reason I’ve heard for not having a family emergency plan is that people don’t know where to start. A one-hour course will never replace the value of sitting down with family and talking about who has what responsibility when an emergency happens, but a CDE will give you the best first step to learn about emergencies and eventually have that conversation with family.”

A CDE can be held anywhere and during most hours; during a lunch break, after hours at a Homeowners Association (HOA) meeting, or at a weekend community gathering. Residents can request a CDE by using the form on our website at www.CityofGoleta.org/CDE and a City representative will get in touch to schedule the CDE presentation.

Presentations will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis, and a limited number of CDEs will be available each month. A minimum of 10 people are requested per CDE course. In the future, CDE’s will also be available in Spanish – stay tuned for details. For any additional questions regarding CDEs, please reach out to the City’s Emergency Services Coordinator at CERT@cityofgoleta.org.

Pictured: Michael Baris, City of Goleta Emergency Services Coordinator, with items from his “Go Bag”