Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) for Persons with Disabilities

Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney and the Board of Chosen Freeholders are offering twenty residents with various disabilities Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). The eight-week course, which consists of three-hour sessions, began in October and is being held at the Law and Public Safety Institute in Mahwah.
“The County’s Division on Disability Services is collaborating with Heightened Independence and Progress and Spectrum for Living to assist our Office of Emergency Management in this innovative endeavor,” said McNerney. “Residents with various disabilities were invited by these agencies to participate in the training.”

“Bergen County is one of the first counties in New Jersey to move forward with this effort,” said Valerie Williams Dargan, Ph.D., Bergen County Department of Human Services Director. “The training enables persons with disabilities to be better prepared in the event of an actual emergency situation.”

“This is another example of a win-win situation whereupon instructors become more attuned to the needs of persons with disabilities in a disaster situation, and participants with disabilities attain certification in emergency response,” said Jim Thebery, M.A., CSW, Bergen County Division on Disability Services Director.
For further information regarding this program or other services, contact the Bergen County Division of Disability Services at 201-336-6500 (Voice) or 201-336-6505 (TTY).