Local Red Cross looking for volunteers
Shifting weather patterns mean more disasters could be on horizon
Cape Breton may have been relatively untouched by natural disaster but that could change in the future.
Jason Noseworthy, disaster management co-ordinator with the Canadian Red Cross in Sydney, said shifting weather patterns mean the humanitarian charity could be pressed into action more frequently in the local area. That’s why the organization is trying to shore up its roster of volunteers who help man emergency shelters and provide other services to people when disaster strikes.
“In our local area, in the past we haven’t seen many largescale disasters that would require a significant amount of volunteers, but those trends are starting to change as we can see with the weather that we have out there today,” Noseworthy said Thursday afternoon as the island was being hit by its first major winter storm. “Look back to October two years ago with the flooding here — we can see the weather patterns are changing constantly and we have to adapt and grow with the demands that are going to be coming in the future because these things are not becoming less frequent, they’re becoming more frequent.”
Noseworthy said the local Red Cross currently has 25-30 volunteers who can respond to disasters but they’d like to double or even triple that number. Following the Thanksgiving Day flood of Oct. 10, 2016, which left thousands of people without power, Red Cross volunteers operated 24-hour shelter at Centre 200. Noseworthy said they also regularly help families displaced by house fires or impacted by ice and wind storms, prolonged power outages, storm surges and flash floods.
Local volunteers are also sometimes deployed out of the province, as was the case last year when people travelled to Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia to help out when those provinces were hit by devastating wildfires.
Basic requirements for volunteers include being at least 19 years old, having a valid driver’s licence, a clear criminal reference check, completing first aid and other specialized disaster training that the Red Cross provides at no charge, and agreeing to be available to help 24 hours a day on a rotating schedule.
Noseworthy said most volunteers say the greatest reward is helping people out when they need it most.
“Everybody has the empathy and the team player attitude, and everybody comes together for one thing and that’s to help the vulnerable people when they’re at the lowest point, and you’re there to assist without any question,” he said. “It’s being proud that you’re able to provide that particular service to those people who are in desperate need, and that’s very selfrewarding.
“It’s always the expressions on the faces of the clients and the kids — it’s just the connection you make with those families when you’re helping them out.”
Details and instructions for applying to become a Red Cross volunteer are available online at redcross.ca/volunteer, or people can also drop by the local office at 1140 Upper Prince St., or phone 902-564-4114.