On November 14, Barb Gagnon saw flood waters come very close to her house just outside of Princeton, British Columbia. She was evacuated to a friend’s house with her dog, Daisy, and it wasn't long before she decided to roll up her sleeves “in order to keep my sanity and keep busy,” she says.
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Brian Boyes is in Kamloops, British Columbia with the Canadian Red Cross as part of the logistics team at the Reception Centre for people evacuated from their homes. He knows what they are going through because he and his wife Angela were two of some 80,000 people who had to flee the wildfire that descended on Fort McMurray in 2016.
The longest stretch that Fran Carter has spent at home in Falher, Alberta this year is ten days. That’s because she has been going from disaster response to disaster response with the Canadian Red Cross – and wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s been called the “shadow pandemic.” As millions of people around the world continue to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including lockdowns and changes to regular services, incidents of sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) have increased worldwide.
The Canadian Red Cross is working to enhance the capacity of the Mali Red Cross in developing and implementing programs to help communities become stronger, healthier, and more resilient. This led the Canadian Red Cross team in Mali, in partnership with the Mali Red Cross and the MHSD, to launch a component of a project for people with disabilities.
"It was fast and painless. Took at most 15 minutes. Provided peace of mind that I was not asymptomatic and potentially spreading the virus."
That is how one staff member with Calgary Humane Society (CHS) described their experience taking a COVID-19 rapid antigen test as part of the Canadian Red Cross Stop the Spread and Stay Safe! program.
Whether you are experiencing this week’s flooding, landslides and extreme weather in British Columbia first-hand or are watching it unfold through social media and television screens, there’s no denying the sheer devastation it has caused.
When lightning strikes, disaster can follow in mere minutes. Elizabeth, her husband, four children and family dog escaped a sudden home fire, and were grateful for the support of the Red Cross Personal Disaster Assistance Team in Prince Albert, SK.