Emergency response helper training available

By Lawrence Gleason, Local Press Writer

A course is available for people who want to help during unexpected disasters that can overwhelm local emergency services.

The Bridges of Love Ministry, a registered charity, has designed a course for a community-based approach to address disaster response following up its experience with limited help with the 2009 Slave Lake fire, writing letters of encouragement to those affected, and its more active role in the 2013 Alberta floods.

The Bridges of Love Ministry got its unexpected start when a Burnaby-based doctor, Dr. Tim Foggin, was in Shanghai visiting his brother, a biologist working in China when the SARS out-break, a dangerous avian flu, struck.  Dr. Foggin recognized the need for a community-based response to be ready in case such an event happened in Canada. Dr. Foggin discovered Marg Polon was working on a similar project and telephoned her unexpectedly and Bridges of Love was created in 2004 as a result.

One of the lessons learned in observing the aftermath of community disasters in the Slave Lake fire and the 2013 flooding was donations can be generous in response but donations need considerable storage, at times at several sites in many neighbouring communities, as in the case of Slave Lake, requiring large numbers of volunteers on those sites and volunteers with trucks to transport donated items to where needed.

During the 2013 Alberta floods Bridges of Love Ministry volunteers worked to match donations with flood victims.

“We matched donations to the need so we didn’t need any storage,” Polon said.

Bridges of Love started by working with churches, its Faith Emergency Preparedness Initiative, relying on the church members sense of community to support first responders.

The Bridges of Love Ministry created a course, Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, the result of years of hands-on learning what to do in unexpected community disasters. The course is $199 and consists of eight modules. It includes information on medical disaster operations, food safety, fire safety, search and rescue and personal preparedness.

The course appears well recognized. In 2014 the Bridges of Love Ministry was awarded the Prime Minister’s Volunteer Award, as a social innovator for the prairie region. More recently the ministry won Canada’s Exemplary Service Award under the resilient communities category.

Polon addressed Municipal District of Willow Creek councillors at their October 10 meeting. She had arranged a public presentation on the course Tuesday, Oct. 16 at the Claresholm and Public Library from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

For anyone interested, Polon’s contact number is 403-468-5683.

Photo

emergency response – Marg Polon is the founder of Bridges of Love Ministry, that helps in community disasters. The ministry has created a disaster readiness course now available. Photo by Lawrence Gleason