Are you worried about what you should do in case of a disaster hitting our area? This could be anything from a hurricane (hopefully not) or a bridge being hit by a barge and damaged or even a giant fire somewhere? If these thoughts occasionally cross your mind, you may want to participate in the training provided by the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

The CERT program provides training to Beaufort County residents to increase self-sufficiency in a disaster. Participants learn skills that will enable them to provide emergency assistance to their families and neighbors. CERT classes are free of charge and held at the Technical College of the Lowcountry (Room 125), 100 Community College Drive, in Bluffton. The course is taught in four weekday class sessions from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and one Saturday exercise class from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The June 2015 schedule is as follows:

<strong>Monday, June 1st:</strong> Personal Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation, <strong>Wednesday, June 3rd: </strong>Disaster Medical I, <strong>Monday, June 8th: </strong>Disaster Psychology/Terrorism Response, <strong>Wednesday, June 10th:</strong> Disaster Medical II/CERT Organization, <strong>Saturday, June 13th:</strong> Fire Suppression/Disaster Search Techniques and Exercise

For more information or to register, contact Julie Dimitrov at (843) 812-2189 or email beaufortcountycert@gmail.com.