If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to Rhonda at South Padre Island Real Estate...spihomes.com

FIRST AID
Agency looks to train residents to respond to emergencies

By AMANDA HARRIS

A national volunteer agency wants Laguna Madre area residents to be prepared to help in case of a disaster or emergency.

Citizen Corps was created to coordinate volunteer efforts at a town level, said Jacqueline Cantu, the administrator of the Rio Grande Valley program.

Residents can train to respond and assist others during emergencies until first response teams arrive and take over, Cantu said.

 "It’s not just for hurricanes,” Cantu said. “It’s for any type of disaster or emergency.”

The Rio Grande Valley Citizen Corps hopes to have at least one program for each grouping of regional cities, which would mean South Padre Island, Port Isabel and Los Fresnos would be grouped under one program, Cantu said.

“We’re here for everybody, but mostly we tend to work with small cities that may not have a lot of resources or staff,” Cantu said.

Citizens can volunteer in one of four programs that focus on different areas of emergency response, including medical, law enforcement, fire and neighborhood watch programs, Cantu said.

The Community Emergency Response Team is the Citizen Corp’s fifth volunteer program and provides its members with basic training in all four response areas, Cantu said.

“[The CERT] is the more popular program at this point,” Cantu said.

The Rio Grande Valley Citizen Corps covers Willacy, Hidalgo and Cameron Counties, Cantu said.
“The state would like to see regional programs and efforts,” Cantu said. “The push from the state is a regional approach.”

Officials prefer that residents receive the 20-hour CERT training because they will learn about multiple areas of emergency response instead of just one, Cantu said.

However, communities can get training from the Rio Grande Valley Citizen Corps to start any of the available programs in their area, she said.

The Neighborhood Watch Program training would work with existing neighborhood watches and incorporate homeland security training as well as crime prevention, Cantu said.

The fire, law enforcement and medical volunteer response program would each work with the respective departments in the community and receive training from the Valley Citizen Corps, she said.

Groups including community members, businesses, local governments or school districts can request to meet with Valley Citizen Corps officials to receive training at the Citizen Corps facilities in McAllen or in their own community, Cantu said.

“We’re here to cater to them and work with them,” Cantu said.

The Citizen Corps program is part of the USA Freedom Corps initiative created by Pres. George W. Bush in 2002 during the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Cantu said.

“The Citizen Corps is a brand new program, one we’d like to see the counties and cities taking ownership of one day,” Cantu said.