Citizen Corps Councils
Resources for Councils
Fresno Citizen Corps Council
Turning Love of Community into Commitment to Safety
- Overview
- Council Background
- Strategy
- Council Results
- Next Steps
- Additional Information and Resources
- Fresno Citizen Corps Contact
Overview
The Fresno Citizen Corps Council is comprised of the many public and private resources within the community to respond to every kind of disaster, including threats of crime and terrorism. As Fresno Mayor Alan Autry has said, “The greatest resource in any community is its citizens, and Citizen Corps is the most comprehensive way to harness love of a community into action.”
Council Background
Shortly after President Bush’s State of the Union Address in January 2002, Fresno Mayor Alan Autry created a three-member task force to evaluate the creation of a Citizen Corps Council. The task force chairman, a retired Fortune 500 executive, first met with key leaders from the White House, FEMA, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services to get a better feel for what a Council would need to successfully function.
In April 2002, the small task force met with Fresno’s diverse array of local organizations that had an interest in forming a Citizen Corps Council and assured stakeholders that the objective would be to support and make use of existing resources, rather than duplicate or displace existing services.
In August 2002, the three-member working group grew to an eight-member steering committee and today the Fresno Citizen Corps Council is composed of a 15-member Board of Directors representing an extraordinary public-private partnership for community safety. Mayor Autry officially announced the formation of the Fresno Citizen Corps Counil in a ceremony at City Hall on September 11, 2002. In July 2003, a full-time Executive Director for the Council was named.
The original 36 organizations, as well as a constantly growing number of new partners representing a vast array of public and private community agencies, have focused the Fresno spirit of volunteerism to create an emergency response and public safety network that links the strengths of these organizations in unprecedented fashion.
Strategy
An early challenge faced the Fresno Citizen Corps Council was garnering the “buy-in” of all the local organizations with a stake in emergency preparedness, and communicating to local organizations that the Council would not be their competition for financial resources. To overcome these challenges, Council representatives held individual meetings with the leadership of the major stakeholder groups. During these numerous meetings during the early part of 2002, the Fresno Citizen Corps Council representatives carefully described the Council’s mission and reassured stakeholders that the purpose of the Council was to create collaborative community-wide responses to meet safety and security needs. The one-on-one meetings were key to the Council’s success and have yielded a very diverse and comprehensive array of affiliated local organizations.
The Council also developed a strategic focus based on several key themes: keep things simple, build on what already exists, avoid duplication and bureaucracy, and be inclusive. These are the principles that contributed to the Council’s swift formation and continuing success. These key guiding principles are further enhanced by an emphasis on flexibility, as stated in the preamble to the Council’s strategic plan: “The goal of the Council and its members and volunteers is to effectively serve the diverse needs in the Fresno area, therefore this plan is subject to ongoing enhancement and revision in response to the rapidly changing world in which we live.”
Community safety, especially in these times of reduced public safety budgets, is of primary importance to Fresno’s Mayor, its citizens, and the members of the Fresno Citizen Corps Council. As such, the Council elected to focus on four main initiatives to provide the foundation for engaging citizens as partners in public safety – and to build on the great work that has already been done by dedicated and visionary community partners. These initiatives are:
- Fresno Public Safety Volunteers
- Fresno First Responder Support
- Business Community Emergency Preparedness
- Fresno Safe and Proud Neighborhoods
Results
Building on the strategic planning conducted in the early stages of the Council formation, the Fresno Citizen Corps Council has successfully organized and implemented the proposed four initiatives. These programs are all fully underway and continue to grow as more and more citizens participate in the City’s commitment to safety.
- Fresno Public Safety Volunteers Program: This effort is aimed at adding volunteers to the law enforcement and fire agencies in the area, and consists of five components, three of which are Volunteers in Poice Service (VIPS) programs: Citizens on Patrol, Volunteers in Police Administration, and the Reserve Officer program. The Public Safety Volunteers Program also serves as the umbrella for Fire Department Volunteers, a fire safety, public education and outreach program, and the Citizens Police Academy, a 17-week evening academy offered to residents over the age of 18 in English, Spanish, and several Southeast Asian languages.
- First Responders Support Program: This group of programs provides a trained cadre of emergency response volunteers who can manage other volunteers and provide support to a number of first-responder organizations in the region. Components include: a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, which offered its first “Train the Trainer” course in February 2003 and is now offering classes on an ongoing basis; and the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), which recruits both current and retired professionals in a broad range of health-related fields, who provide surge capacity during times of need.
- Business Community Emergency Preparedness Program: The objective of this effort is to engage the private sector in emergency preparedness and to tap the volunteer resources available within the Fresno business community. The two components are Business Emergency Preparedness Training, geared toward educating employees about emergencies that may impact the workplace, and Business Emergency Response Teams, a business-based version of CERT training.
- Safe and Proud Neighborhoods Program: This effort is designed to increase community safety and security by utilizing the talents of 21 AmeriCorps volunteers, and is made up of four components. Neighborhood Watch Ambassadors builds on the 30 years of experience of the Neighborhood Watch program to increase volunteer participation and work with the Fresno Police Department. The Public Safety Ambassadors go door-to-door to assist citizens with checking smoke detectors and other safety precautions. The After-School Ambassadors are volunteers who work in park sites and neighborhood resource centers to help provide a safe place for at-risk youth after school. The final component – the We, the People Program, uses a speakers’ bureau and other resources to encourage citizenship, service and responsibility – and to increase the number of volunteers throughout the community.
Next Steps
Building on the early success of developing collaborative working relationships, the Council plans to continue to extend these relationships and forge new relationships with key partners and influencers throughout the city.
An ongoing challenge faced by many Citizen Corps Councils is maintaining interest in preparedness in the absence of a disaster. The Fresno community, while not immune to terrorism or natural disasters, enhancing public safety allow the Council to help prepare to meet unexpected challenges in the future, by making the community safer and stronger every day.
Moving into the coming year, the Fresno Citizen Corps Council will focus on building and sustaining the four core initiatives. This will focus on attracting and training new volunteers and on keeping all volunteers active in service to the community and country.
Additional Information and Resources
Download
A newsletter that provides an update on Fresno Citizen Corps activities, members and general organization information
Fresno CERT Alert (PDF Version -- 3.0 MB)
Fresno CERT Alert (Text Version -- 7 KB)
A survey conducted to help identify facilities and potential volunteers within the faith community that may be available in the event of a major disaster, and to serve the ongoing needs of our public safety agencies.
Fresno Faith Survey (PDF Version -- 2.2 MB)
Fresno Faith Survey (Text Version -- 8 KB)
A registration to join the Fresno CERT that includes a hold harmless agreement
Fresno Registration and Hold Harmless Agreement (PDF Version -- 136 KB)
Fresno Registration and Hold Harmless Agreement (Text Version -- 4 KB)
A survey given to graduates of the CERT training course to gauge their interest in becoming active members of the Fresno CERT
Fresno CERT Course Completion Survey (PDF Version -- 921KB)
Fresno CERT Course Completion Survey (Text Version -- 3 KB)
A flyer announcing the March – April 2004 schedule of CERT classes
Fresno CERT Course Announcement (PDF Version -- 62 KB)
Fresno CERT Course Announcement (Text Version -- 2 KB)
Information on the Fresno Citizens' Police Academy, including its history and goals
Fresno CPA Info Sheet (PDF Version -- 88 KB)
Fresno CPA Info Sheet (Text Version -- 3 KB)
The Fresno police department citizens' police academy enrollment application
Fresno CPA Application (PDF Version -- 46 KB)
Fresno CPA Application (Text Version -- 3 KB)
An application to join the Fresno volunteer police department
Fresno Police Volunteer Application (PDF Version -- 87 KB)
Fresno Police Volunteer Application (Text Version -- 6 KB)
A confidentiality agreement that must be signed by incoming members of the volunteer police department.
Fresno Police Notice of Confidentiality (PDF Version -- 126 KB)
Fresno Police Notice of Confidentiality (Text Version -- 3 KB)
A release form to be signed upon joining the Fresno volunteer police department
Fresno Police Volunteer Release Form (PDF Version -- 74 KB)
Fresno Police Volunteer Release Form (Text Version -- 4 KB)
A monthly time sheet that members of the Fresno VIPS use to record their hours worked
Fresno Police Volunteer Monthly Time Sheet (PDF Version -- 244 KB)
Fresno Police Volunteer Monthly Time Sheet (Text Version -- 1 KB)
An application for members of VIPS to obtain an ID card
Fresno Police Volunteer ID Application (PDF Version -- 38 KB)
Fresno Police Volunteer ID Application (Text Version -- 2 KB)
An application to join the Fresno volunteer fire department
Fresno Fire Volunteer Application (PDF Version -- 62 KB)
Fresno Fire Volunteer Application (Text Version -- 6 KB)
A release form to be signed upon joining the Fresno volunteer fire department
Fresno Fire Volunteer Release Form (PDF Version -- 1.6 MB)
Fresno Fire Volunteer Release Form (Text Version -- 4 KB)
A flyer advertising the different Fresno Citizen Corps public safety volunteer opportunities
Fresno Public Safety Volunteer Opportunities Flyer (PDF Version -- 109 KB)
Fresno Public Safety Volunteer Opportunities Flyer (Text Version -- 4 KB)