Jersey City OEM looking for CERT volunteers
Last fall, during Hurricane Sandy, good Samaritans throughout Jersey City helped their neighbors cope with flooding, blackouts, displacement, the lack of food, water, and medical supplies, and other crises brought on by the storm.
While these efforts were noble and gallant, at least some of this volunteer work could have been performed by trained, organized, coordinated Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). While several Jersey City residents have completed CERT training, according to W. Greg Kierce, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEM), Hurricane Sandy demonstrated Jersey City has a need for more trained volunteers.
Thus, Jersey City OEM is currently accepting applications from residents why may be interested in receiving CERT training this year.
The training consists of 20 hours of classroom instruction and practical exercises, according to a CERT brochure published by the Jersey City OEM. The course, which is taught by experienced professional first responders, covers disaster preparedness, fire suppression, basic first aid and triage, light search and rescue, terrorism, and the impact major disasters have on mental health.
In cities elsewhere, CERT volunteers have been used to distribute supplies, help set up temporary shelters, and search for lost children, among other disaster needs.
The training is offered free of charge and is available to individuals and community groups (i.e., block associations, churches, civic organizations, etc.). All training and study materials are also offered free of charge for the trainings, which are conducted at the OEM office at 715 Summit Ave. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
Jersey City needs residents in every ward who are trained to help in the event of a crisis or disaster.
For more information, or to obtain an application, call (201) 547-5686 or e-mail certcoord@yahoo.com.
Public meeting on JC-to-Bayonne bus service
On Tuesday, March 12, at 6 p.m. there will be a public meeting for mass transit commuters who travel between Bayonne and Journal Square at the Bethune Life Center, at 140 Martin Luther King Drive.
The cities of Bayonne and Jersey City have teamed up with Hudson County and have launched the Bayonne/Greenville/Journal Square Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Study to improve bus service between Bayonne and Journal Square. The purpose of the study is to explore ways to enhance public transportation opportunities for daily commuters.
The purpose of the meeting is to give the public an opportunity to learn about the BRT Study, transit technologies, and the study results, as well as give input on potential routes for BRT service.
This study is funded through the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority’s Sub-Regional Studies Program and managed by the Hudson County Division of Planning. The City of Jersey City is a project sponsor and City of Bayonne as a supporting partner.
People who plan to attend the meeting and have special need requirements should call Carmen Costa at (888) 772-6400, ext. 17. For more information on the study, or to submit comments for the study team, e-mail feedback@BayonneJerseyCityBRT.com or visit www.bayonnejerseycitybrt.com.
Jersey City Public Schools, Special Olympics Project Unify to hold rally
With the help of a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Jersey City Public Schools and the Special Olympics will for the fourth consecutive year partner to foster inclusion, acceptance, respect, and human dignity for students with physical and intellectual disabilities.
To celebrate this collaboration, a rally will be held at St. Peter’s University on Friday, March 15 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Approximately 2,500 students in grades K through 12 from Jersey City Public Schools have been invited to participate.
Special Olympics Chairman and CEO Timothy P. Shriver will be the special guest at this year’s rally. Shriver has worked to garner legislative attention and government support for issues of importance to people with intellectual disabilities, such as sports, health, education, and employment.
The Jersey City School District, in collaboration with the New Jersey chapter of the Special Olympics, currently offers specialized programming including Get Into Our Game, Young Athlete Program, Unified Sports and Youth Activation Committees, which are all components of the Special Olympics’ Project Unify. All students registered in Jersey City Public Schools are afforded the opportunity to participate in these initiatives, at the school, county, and state levels. The district invites all young people to understand and value their peers with intellectual disabilities and empowers youth to create opportunities in sport and friendship.
Jersey City church to hold local support group
St. John’s Lutheran Church will be the host site for a new support group for individuals, friends and families who are looking to connect during life’s challenging times. If you’re facing a major illness or stressful life change, you don’t have to go it alone. A support group can help. This will be a non-professional self help group.
This group will be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 155 North St., Jersey City, every Monday evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Coffee and tea will be available. Enter through back door of the church in the parking lot on Summit Avenue.
Support groups bring together people facing similar issues, whether that’s illness, relationship problems or major life changes. Members of support groups often share experiences and advice. It can be helpful just getting to talk with other people who are in the same boat. A support group can help you cope better and feel less isolated as you make connections with others facing similar challenges. Many are offered support by family and friends, but you may find it helpful to turn to others outside your immediate circle. We all need a caring shoulder sometimes, or a place where we can cry, laugh, hug, or pray.
For any other info, call Rose Davis (201) 214-5300 or email her at rosednj25@aim.com.
Please call if there is bad weather to make sure that night’s meeting has not been cancelled.
Hudson County’s business leaders prepared to showcase county assets during Trade Mission to India
The Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation and Friends of India, will coordinate an economic development and trade mission to India, beginning March 10. The Chamber and its partners in this endeavor hope the trip will open new pathways to bolster bilateral trade and investment, create jobs, and strengthen existing business and cultural relationships between Hudson County and India.
The group, consisting of 12 delegates, will represent a cross-section of business and community leaders in a variety of sectors, including technology, real estate development/sustainable urban design, higher education, science, arts/culture, and hospitality/tourism.
The Mission will take place from March 10 through March 17, 2013 with visits to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Jersey City’s “sister city” of Calcutta. The group will be hosted by Indian chambers of commerce such as the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
Delegation participants include Jersey City Deputy Mayor Raj Mukherji; Maria Nieves, president and CEO of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce; Daryl Harrison-Rand, the Chamber’s board chair; and Dan Frohwirth, director of real estate for the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation, among other participants.
The Trade Mission has been officially certified by the United States Commercial Service, the trade promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. City government employees are self-funding all travel and related expenses, and no municipal tax dollars are being used in connection with the delegation’s travel, according to the Chamber.
A team of juniors from Saint Peter’s Prep participated in the Northern New Jersey National History Bee and Bowl and finished as quarterfinalists. This has qualified them for the third annual National Championships of the National History Bowl in Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia in April. Additionally, their performance qualified them to take place in the first annual U.S. Geography challenge.