With 600,000+ volunteers nation-wide, CERTs can now leverage digital credentialing to quickly assess skills, capabilities, and training -- before and during emergencies:

Since the beginning of the CERT curriculum in 1993, those involved have continually expanded their skills and capabilities to allow them to prepare and respond to disasters nationwide. We have CERT members to thank for responding safely and effectively to emergency situations in ways that best impact their communities.

And at the core of how CERT programs accomplish this is through each of the 600,000 members’ own unique skills, capabilities, and training they bring to their communities’ disaster situations.

Dozens of CERT and other emergency organizations take advantage of merits in a wide spectrum of situations. Volunteer Florida is beginning to use Merit to track and manage its statewide VOAD and CERT responders for disaster planning. Previously knowing which volunteer attended what training or had the expertise, was a messy mix of paper-based documentation, emails, and spreadsheets. When state and local disaster response teams use Merit to track their volunteers’ training, skills, and experience, the entire emergency response network gains clear visibility into who is most capable and where resources stand when it is most critical. This matters when it comes to deploying volunteers, and to on-the-ground coordination. Knowing that someone has a language skill or a certification to do CPR is essential in an emergency. It can save the State time–and time can save lives.

Read more on the Merit Blog.