Twenty graduates were recognized in August for completing the joint City of Goleta/UCSB Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. This is the sixth annual Teen CERT Class offered for the Isla Vista/Goleta community, and is one of the few offered nationally. This summer’s class was held at the St. George Family Youth Center in Isla Vista which serves youth from both Goleta and Isla Vista. Many of the youth participating were also bilingual.

CERT training prepares community members to become educated in the area of emergency preparedness. CERT participants are trained to serve as part of neighborhood or workplace response teams in the event of a major disaster, when emergency services may not be available and when residents may have to rely on each other for life-saving and life-sustaining needs. The Teen CERT Class includes all of the same training as the Adult CERT Class, with an emphasis on how teens can help during an emergency at home or in their schools.

Stay tuned for our next CERT Training. For more information contact Anthony Rodriguez, CERT Coordinator, at (805) 961-7571 or trodriguez@cityofgoleta.org.