Saving Lives with Lifejacket Loans
Lifejackets cost money. That’s one of the biggest barriers that prevent people from using them, according to Aileen Nauss, Red Cross Water Safety Technical Associate for Atlantic Canada. That’s why the region instituted a free lifejacket loan program three years ago that keeps growing every year.
“It’s an important program because we want to remove this barrier and make sure everyone uses lifejackets or Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs),” says Nauss. “We know that wearing these, and wearing them properly, saves lives.”
Nauss says more than 1,600 lifejackets were loaned out last year. The lifejackets are dispersed all throughout Atlantic Canada and are usually loaned out in Red Cross service centres. Government grants keep the program running, and students are hired to run it throughout the summer.
Emily-Kate MacDonald is one of fifteen students hired this summer. Based in Charlottetown, it’s her first time working for the Red Cross.
“So far this summer, we haven’t had any drownings on PEI,” says MacDonald. “I’m really happy to be working on a program that’s contributed to that.”
The lifejackets and PFDs come in all sizes, and often end up being loaned out to big groups.
“The most interesting loan we’ve done so far was for a wedding on an island,” says Nauss. “The bride and groom wanted to make sure that everyone in the wedding party was wearing a lifejacket.”
Each year, more than 160 Canadians drown while boating. Nearly 90 per cent of them are not properly wearing a lifejacket.
More than 25 communities across Atlantic Canada are participating in the free lifejacket loan program this year. Nauss hopes that they’ll have enough money to expand the program even more next year.
For more information on the program, or to borrow a lifejacket, check here.
