聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Red Cross Emergency and Disaster Services volunteers Brenda Faber and Darlene Burnett of Carlyle were among the early responders called to assist the initial wave of over 300 evacuees from three northern communities, all of whom were fleeing the devastating forest fires that have since engulfed much of northern Saskatchewan. The Carlyle residents were deployed to Prince Albert on Thursday, June 25 and returned home late in the evening on Sunday, June 28.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淪tanding outside, the sky was orange all day,鈥� says Faber. 鈥淏y the time we left to come back to Carlyle, P.A. was pretty much at full capacity for evacuees.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭here were big pieces of ash falling down,鈥� adds Burnett. 鈥淚t must be so scary for them.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Faber has been a Red Cross volunteer for over a decade, while Burnett joined just over a year ago. Both women were deployed to help during last summer's floods in the Carnduff area. Faber has also ventured to northern Saskatchewan before, acting as a Red Cross volunteer when the community of Cumberland House was flooded in 2013.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥n July 1 last year in Carnduff, it was really well-organized,鈥� says Faber. 鈥淭hat's because we were going to do a mock (drill) and the real thing happened.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This time, they were among the first Red Cross personnel to arrive on scene, where they were put to work in Prince Albert at the city's SIAST campus registering and placing over 300 evacuees from the First Nations communities of Sucker River, Montreal Lake and Weyakwin.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏uses pulled up and they came,鈥� said Burnett. 鈥淚t all happens so quickly. It was more of a new experience for me than it was for Brenda, but you catch on pretty quickly and you soon become focused on the people you're trying to help. It was my first time doing an evacuation.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Faber says they aim to make the registration and needs assessment processes as easy as possible for people who are already experiencing significant stress.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e register them so they can be reached for any reason, including relatives or friends outside the area wanting to know where they are and if they're okay,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e do as full a registration as possible, but we don't insist on ID. We just take down their names, the names of their children, their contact information and where they are and what they're doing.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淣ot everyone ends up staying at a Red Cross shelter,鈥� adds Faber. 鈥淪ome people might have a relative in town that they can stay with. We just gather the information, so we know where they are and can get in touch with them, if needed.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e try to keep families together and we really try to look after the elderly. If at all possible, we聽 might put an elderly person in a motel or hotel. When we set up the shelters, we set up cots with blankets and pillows; but that's pretty hard on an older person.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Red Cross also supplies evacuees with personal hygiene kits, food vouchers and baby supplies.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏y the second day, the situation at SIAST was organized so that nutritious meals could be cooked for (the evacuees),鈥� says Faber. 鈥淏ut the first night, we ordered in 40 pizzas-twice! And there were pallets and pallets of bottled water, to prevent people from getting dehydrated.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Volunteers also focus on the emotional needs of evacuees.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's very busy,鈥� says Burnett. 鈥淏ut you're there trying to help people to feel better during a really stressful time (for them). You find yourself chatting with them-especially with kids-and you hope you are helping them feel just a little bit better.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵our attention is on them,鈥� adds Faber. 鈥淎nd one thing I'd really like to express is that there's a fine line between sympathy and empathy. I've found that people don't want your sympathy, but they need to know you're trying to understand how they feel.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Depending on the length and circumstances of an evacuation, people caught up in a traumatic situation like this one experience a myriad of emotions, according to Faber.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淓very situation is different,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ften people expect to be evacuated, but by the third or fourth day, they're ready to go home. They're tired of sleeping in a cot in a shelter with hundreds of other people and they just want to go home.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淪ometimes outside agencies get involved, like social services and other organizations. But communities are usually really good with trying to help the people who are staying there as evacuees,鈥� adds Faber.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥n Sunday, they got wristbands so they could use pools and city transit free of charge,鈥� says Burnett. 鈥淚t's especially good for the kids when they otherwise can't get outside. One of the local band members taxied people around, too.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hen I was in Cumberland House before, the casino put on a big July 1 fun day with a big barbeque and a lot of other things for the people who had been evacuated,鈥� says Faber. 鈥淓verybody was pretty much entertained.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 While the Red Cross and other voluntary and government agencies work to help allieviate the stress for the people they are assisting, both women say that to be a useful volunteer, you also have to look after yourself.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he Red Cross puts us all through a debriefing and there's a maximum time any volunteer can work without a day off,鈥� says Faber. 鈥淭he circumstances of a disaster can be devastating and they need to know if this is going to bother you or whether it will roll off your back.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ith this one, there's no recovery like there was in the floods. We won't be going in and helping to get their houses back in shape. These places are so remote that we won't be going to their communities after it's all over and right now (at press time), weather is still a big factor. Depending on the winds and when the rains come, no one knows when it will end.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淓very situation is different,鈥� says Faber. 鈥淵ou might get choked up at the time, but you can always walk away and get ahold of yourself, or you won't be helping anybody.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's hard to leave some (people),鈥� she continues. 鈥淏ecause they seem to get pretty attached to you.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hey form an attachment to you because you were kind to them and they are grateful,鈥� says Burnett. 鈥淵ou helped them during a really stressful time in their lives and that's so rewarding.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Both women say that volunteering for the Red Cross is both a rewarding experience and a humbling one.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 got to meet Brenda and a lot of other awesome people,鈥� says Burnett. 鈥淎fter I retired, I really wanted to do something that would kind of pay it forward.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵ou really become a Red Cross family,鈥� says Faber. 鈥淵ou experience things that only another Red Cross volunteer would understand. I started volunteering with the Red Cross because I wanted to do something for me. I love people and I love helping them. I like getting in there and saying 'Let's do it!'鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Faber also cites the Red Cross mission statement, part of which states that the organization aims to: 鈥減rovide help immediately to whoever needs it, wherever they are, whatever their race, political beliefs, religion, racial status or culture.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he Red Cross is for everyone,鈥� says Faber. 鈥淔or the people it helps and for its volunteers. I really encourage people to look into volunteering, if they're at all interested.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's one of the best things you can do,鈥� she adds. 鈥淚'd go back anytime.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 would too,鈥� says Burnett. 鈥淚 think we'll both be back.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 To learn more, check out www.redcross.ca.
