Emergency preparedness is of utmost importance in the Bay Area. With a growing senior population it is also important to be able to assure the safety of senior citizens in the days following any disaster, natural or man made. The same is true for the disabled.San Leandro lacks a commitment to civilian emergency preparedness. There is no voluntary civil defense or emergency management organization. Although CERT Basic Training is given by the Alameda County Fire Department, the trainees are then cut lose with no idea of who in their neighborhood has also been trained. The Alameda County Fire Department calls this "catch and release" training. The lack of structure effectively prohibits CERT volunteers from applying the skills they learned in training. CERT was originally intended as a way to train community members how to help each other survive in a time of major crisis, when professional fire and EMS resources have been exhausted. Hundreds of residents have been trained, only to be ignored.as a resource. .