Last week about 30 LCSW members participated in a 50-hour CERT training held in conjunction with the Lakewood OEM at the OEM headquarters. CERT, which stands for Community, Emergency Response Team provides participants with invaluable skills and training to handle an expansive amount of emergency scenarios. Participants covered ten core topics, which include, disaster psychology, terrorism preparedness, disaster and medical operations among other important potentialities. In addition to the LCSW, there were also numerous participants from Lakewood’s Lev Rochel Bikur Cholim. Upon graduation from the program, participants received an expanded kit containing tools they may need when responding to an emergency including helmets, various gas deterring masks, equipment to shut water or gas lines in the case of need and more. Each participant was also issued an ID card that identifies them as CERT trainees who completed this program in conjunction with Lakewood OEM.