About Citizen Corps

In 2002, President Bush created the USA Freedom Corps program to promote volunteerism in the United States and overseas. The Citizen Corps program is a subset of this program, designed to promote volunteer service during disasters and to ensure citizens are trained on how to respond to disasters. The program is affiliated with five other programs:

Find a Citizen Corps Council

The Citizen Corps council for the Houston area is the Harris County Citizen Corps. Their website lists contact information for local Citizen Corps programs, as well as upcoming training opportunities for the CERT program. In addition, a service to find your local Citizen Corps council is available on the national Citizen Corps website.

Other Citizen Corps Programs

Fire Corps

About the Program

The Fire Corps program, a subset of the national Citizen Corps family of programs, is designed to connect citizen volunteers with local fire departments. Fire Corps volunteers are not volunteer firefighters. Rather, they are ordinary citizens who assist a local fire department with activities other than fire suppression. Examples of activities performed by Fire Corps volunteers include:

Developing and maintaining a fire department website
Conducting public education campaigns
Supporting public relations events such as smoke detector give-aways
Providing drinks and food to firefighters on incident scenes

Each Fire Corps program is attached to a particular fire department or government agency. The actual activities performed by a member of a Fire Corps program are dependent on the policies and procedures of the sponsoring agency.

Fire Corps is a separate program from CERT. The Houston CERT Program does not sponsor, manage, or control any Fire Corps programs.

Find a Fire Corps Program

The Harris County Citizen Corps webpage has more information on the Fire Corps program, as well as links to Harris County fire departments. Interested persons should contact their local fire department for more information on Fire Corps and other volunteer opportunities.

Medical Reserve Corps

About the Program

The Medical Reserve Corps program, a subset of the national Citizen Corps family of programs, is designed to provide a source of medically-trained volunteers and support staff to assist in disasters and emergencies. Medical Reserve Corps volunteers can either be trained healthcare professionals like doctors or paramedics, or they can be ordinary citizens who wish to volunteer in the healthcare setting. Examples of activities performed by MRC volunteers include:

Assisting medical facilities with staffing
Managing patient registration at alternate care sites
Assisting with vaccination clinics

Medical Reserve Corps volunteers may be called upon to assist in a variety of situations. The specific situation as well as the agency being assisted will determine the scope of activities performed by MRC volunteers.

Find a Medical Reserve Corps Program

The Houston area’s Medical Reserve Corps is implemented by Gateway to Care. More information on the program requirements and application process is available on the Harris County Gateway to Care MRC website.

Volunteers in Police Service

About the Program

The Volunteers in Police Service program, a subset of the national Citizen Corps family of programs, is designed to connect citizen volunteers with local police departments. Volunteers in Police Service volunteers are not volunteer police officers. Rather, they are ordinary citizens who assist a local police department with activities other than law enforcement. Examples of activities performed by VIPS volunteers include:

Developing and maintaining a police department website
Conducting public education campaigns
Supporting public relations events such as registration of valuables

Each VIPS program is attached to a particular police department or government agency. The actual activities performed by a member of a VIPS program are dependent on the policies and procedures of the sponsoring agency.

Volunteers in Police Service is a separate program from CERT. The Houston CERT Program does not sponsor, manage, or control any VIPS programs.

Find a Volunteers in Police Service Program

The Harris County Citizen Corps webpage has more information on the Volunteers in Police Service program, as well as contact information for VIPS coordinators at local law enforcement agencies. Interested persons should contact their local law enforcement agency for more information on VIPS and other volunteer opportunities.

USA on Watch

About the Program

The Neighborhood Watch program and the USA on Watch program are subsets of the national Citizen Corps family of programs. The programs are designed to connect citizen volunteers with local agencies dedicated to crime prevention and reporting in local communities. Neighborhood Watch volunteers are not volunteer police officers. Rather, they are ordinary citizens who assist a local law enforcement agency with activities that promote safety and crime prevention. Examples of activities performed by Neighborhood Watch volunteers include:

Reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement
Distributing safety awareness materials
Hosting community meetings

Each Neighborhood Watch program is affiliated with the local law enforcement agency. The actual activities performed by a member of a Neighborhood Watch program are dependent on the policies and procedures of the sponsoring agency.

Neighborhood Watch and USA on Watch are separate programs from CERT. The Houston CERT Program does not sponsor, manage, or control any Neighborhood Watch programs.

Find a Neighborhood Watch Program

The Harris County Citizen Corps webpage has more information on the USA on Watch program, as well as links to local Neighborhood Watch coordinators. Interested persons should contact their local coordinator for more information on Neighborhood Watch in their area.