Community Emergency Response

Like other localities across the country, the September 11 attacks were a wake-up call for Howard County, Maryland. Located about 25 miles from Washington, D.C., and 20 miles from Baltimore, county residents could be affected by a terrorist incident in either of these municipalities, as well as in its own community.

In order to meet the health consequences of such a disaster, The Community Emergency Response Network (CERN) was formed by the Foundation in close coordination with Howard County government and key community agencies in Howard County.

CERN's mission is to spearhead the development of a community-wide disaster response plan to ensure optimum preparedness in the event of a terrorist attack or major natural emergency. The effort supports government disaster planning through coordination of the emergency plans and resources of participating members. CERN functions include planning, a high level of inter-agency coordination, the development of tabletop exercises, disaster plan review, shelter planning and communications enhancement.

The Department of Homeland Security has given national recognition to CERN, citing it as a "Smart Practice" (PDF) in its national publications and outlining its community-wide model to thousands of cities and communities across the U.S. And in a major editorial, the Baltimore Sun said that CERN is "a local model worth wide study and emulation." CERN is composed of over 80 members including front line responders and representatives of numerous community organizations. Chaired by Mary Lasky, new safeguards are being developed to support the county's first line responders. They include upgraded planning capabilities by local institutions, enhanced communications, tabletop exercises to test local readiness, volunteer training and deployment and expanded shelter capacity.

Special attention has been paid to the provision of information on disaster response, the needs of public schools, the roles of nonprofit providers and working with private organizations such as the Columbia Association. CERN activities fall under and are functionally integrated with the county's Emergency Operations Center.

"Although now officially designated by FEMA as a Citizens Corps," says Richard Krieg, President & CEO of The Horizon Foundation, "CERN also functions as an organization corps. The intent is to bring relevant organizations to optimal readiness and resiliency levels."

For more information, visit the Foundation's suite of emergency preparedness websites at BePreparedBeReady.org. Here you'll find information on emergency preparedness for individuals, neighborhoods and businesses.