Disaster Response (Page 5)

While many Canadians are hunting for the perfect holiday gifts for those they care about, the Canadian Red Cross Holiday Gift Guide offers many thoughtful and practical gift options that can easily be ordered online from our e-Shop.

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.

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.

Marina Dovell has plenty of experience decompressing during Red Cross deployments. She started volunteering with the Red Cross in 2015, after retiring from the Saskatchewan provincial government, and deals with stressful situations when on response. She describes her best practices for self-care and destressing during difficult times.

More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries are now experiencing devastating second, third, and fourth waves of the virus. While the quick development of vaccines is positive news, COVID-19 remains an ongoing crisis and its effects will still be seen for years to come. Here are some examples of how Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies continue to provide support.

Although the staff at Theatre Gargantua in Toronto picked up some interesting hobbies and pastimes during the early stages of lockdown, they were eager to get back to the stage. When they were able to do so, Theatre Gargantua quickly applied for and adopted the Stop the Spread program to ensure that their staff and audience would feel safe and comfortable getting back to live theatre.

Providing a safe place to people in need of shelter, Embrave Agency to End Violence could not even consider closing due to the pandemic. Instead, they looked for ways to keep operating safely, for clients and staff, implementing many safety measures, including the Canadian Red Cross Stop the Spread program.