New Jersey Citizen Corps volunteers
help their communities prepare for and respond
to all types of disasters through education,
training and volunteer service. Based on
the tradition of "neighbor helping neighbor," Citizen
Corps programs build strong communities, enhance
the capabilities of emergency services
organizations, and empower individuals to act
responsibly and respond appropriately during
critical times.
There are over
10,000 Citizens Corps volunteers in 208 New Jersey
communities. These
dedicated individuals have helped search for
missing children, served as community relations
field officers after disasters, worked in local
emergency operations centers during disaster
simulations and emergency events, assisted with
shelter operations, aided coordination at community
events and helped other community members be
better prepared for disasters.
Join our team
- there are a variety of opportunities to meet
your skills and interests.
Join our team poster (16m
pdf)
Citizen Corps Programs
Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT)
Medical Reserve Corps
The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
Program coordinates the skills of practicing
and retired physicians, nurses and other health
professionals as well as other citizens interested
in health issues, who are eager to volunteer
to address their community's ongoing public health
needs and to help their community during large-scale
emergency situations.
Local community leaders will
develop their own Medical Reserve Corps Units
and identify the duties of the MRC volunteers
according to specific community needs. For example,
MRC volunteers may deliver necessary public health
services during a crisis, assist emergency response
teams with patients, and provide care directly
to those with less serious injuries and other
health-related issues.
MRC volunteers may also serve a vital role by assisting their communities with
ongoing public health needs (e.g., immunizations, screenings, health and nutrition
education, and volunteering in community health centers and local hospitals).
Once established, how the local MRC Unit is utilized will be decided locally.
The MRC unit will make decisions, with local officials, including the local
Citizen Corps Council, on when the community Medical Reserve Corps is activated
during a local emergency.
Neighborhood Watch Program
The Neighborhood Watch Program
is a highly successful effort that has been in
existence for more than thirty years in cities
and counties across America. It provides a unique
infrastructure that brings together local officials,
law enforcement and citizens to protect our communities.
Around the country, neighbors for three decades have banded together to create
Neighborhood Watch programs. They understand that the active participation
of neighborhood residents is a critical element in community safety - not through
vigilantism, but simply through a willingness to look out for suspicious activity
in their neighborhood, and report that activity to law enforcement and to each
other. In doing so, residents take a major step toward reclaiming high-crime
neighborhoods, as well as making people throughout a community feel more secure
and less fearful.
In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the need for strengthening and securing
our communities has become even more critical, and Neighborhood Watch groups
have taken on greater significance. In addition to serving a crime prevention
role, Neighborhood Watch can also be used as the basis for bringing neighborhood
residents together to focus on disaster preparedness as well as terrorism awareness;
to focus on evacuation drills and exercises; and even to organize group training,
such as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training.
Many neighborhoods already have established Neighborhood Watch programs that
are vibrant and effective. For those that do not, Citizen Corps and the renewed
emphasis on citizen preparedness may provide the incentive for them to participate
in this important community-based effort on behalf of their friends and neighbors.
And when you help your neighbors, you help the nation.
National Neighborhood Watch Program - http://www.usaonwatch.org/
For NJ Neighborhood Watch info,
contact Sgt. Joanne Harrison at
609-963-6996 ext. 6983
Volunteers in Police Service
Since September
11, 2001, the demands on state and local law
enforcement have increased dramatically. As a
result, already limited resources are being stretched
further at a time when our country needs every
available officer out on the beat. Some local
police departments are turning to civilian volunteers
to supplement their sworn force. These vital
efforts will receive new support through the
Volunteers in Police Service. VIPS draws
on the time and considerable talents of civilian
volunteers and allows law enforcement professionals
to better perform their frontline duties.
The Program will provide resources
to assist local law enforcement officials by
incorporating community volunteers into the activities
of the law enforcement agency, including a series
of best practices to help state and local law
enforcement design strategies to recruit, train,
and utilize citizen volunteers in their departments.
National Volunteers in Police
Service Home Page - http://www.policevolunteers.org/
For NJ National Volunteers in
Police Service info, contact Howard Butt at 609-963-6995
Fire Corps
The mission of Fire Corps is to enhance the ability
of fire departments to utilize citizen advocates
and provide individuals with opportunities
to support their local fire departments with
their time and talent.
Fire Corps is a partnership between
the International Association of Fire Chiefs'
Volunteer Combination Officers Section (VCOS),
the International Association of Fire Fighters
(IAFF), the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC),
and the White House's USA Freedom Corps Office.
The program's ultimate goal is to support and
supplement resource-constrained fire departments
at all levels, volunteer, combination, and career.
This will be accomplished through
the use of civilian advocates for non-operational
related activities. The program will educate
fire departments on how to implement a non-operational
citizen advocates program, or improve existing
programs. Fire service input to the program is
provided through the Fire Corps National Advisory
Committee which gives strategic direction and
important feedback from the field to Fire Corps.
News Releases
Links
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