I personally can't speak to that - check with your local community. The youngest person in our class (about 20 people) was mid 20's. The oldest in their late 60's. Everyone was enthusiastic and there was a lot of great interaction. The conclusion of the class was a mock disaster situation (Arriving at a building devastated by a tornado). Needless to say our team thinking we were a bunch of hot shots planned out our roles, arriving at the scene with FRS radios for communication, etc.. AND EVERYTHING WENT OUT THE WINDOW in less than 60 seconds. Those planning the disaster did a great job of creating the confusion, noise, and all kinds of things that we were not ready for. There wasn't a single one of us that was not ready for rescue ourselves at the end of the 20 minute simulation. This was a real eye opener for what 1st responders have to do - and all this for those of us knowing it was only a simulation! Like I had mentioned before - I don't think CERT prepares you for anything that could possibly happen - but the everyday citizen needs to start somewhere. Having been through that I know that my own personal preparation at home is much better today than it was a year ago. Check out some of the info at the department of homeland security as a start: http://www.dhs.gov/xcitizens/