In the event of an emergency on Bowen Island where an evacuation order is issued, a Reception Centre will be opened by Emergency Social Services volunteers to receive evacuees. The “meeter and greeter” welcomes evacuees and directs them to the appropriate service area according to their needs. To illustrate the importance of this role, I am sharing a message we received from a resident in the interior who was evacuated from their home this summer:
"Although I don't live on Bowen Island, I do enjoy visiting and I also subscribe to the Bowen Island Undercurrent. I was just reading in the September 15 issue that came in the mail about your September 29 Meet and Greet Course. I was hoping for whatever it is worth if I might share my experience from this summer.
I live in the Interior of BC and we were evacuated for about two weeks due to the approaching wildfires. I knew nothing about Emergency Social Services. When we got to Kamloops, there was an evacuation centre set up at Thompson Rivers University. It was a zoo. There must have been at least 2,000 evacuees, pets, volunteers, staff, you name it. It was hot and noisy with lots of commotion and lots of stress. Each family had to work through two lengthy lines - one for Emergency Social Services and one for the Red Cross.
I was so impressed with the person who I met with at the ESS table. It was hot and noisy, incredibly busy, but when it was finally my turn and I sat down opposite the person and was getting out my ID, she put down her paperwork and her pen, she took off her glasses and looked right at me and asked how I was doing. Despite how busy everything was, she took a couple of minutes to "check in" with me and just see how I was doing before we got going on all of the paperwork. I had assumed she was a social worker with some provincial government office. I did not realize at the time that most of the people there with ESS were volunteers. The approach she took really eliminated a lot of the stress I was feeling. She made a real difference in how that day unfolded for me. Good luck with your training session."
Please join your local Emergency Social Services team to learn about this important role.
Friday, September 29, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Municipal Hall
To register, or to learn more about Emergency Social Services on Bowen Island, please contact [email protected]
