Cortes Islanders
Short Story
For Cortes Island this will support training for your ESS Team and more supplies for the emergency seacan at the school.
Long Story
I’m happy to share the Province of BC’s news release
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023EMCR0011-000411 indicating that the Strathcona Regional District has received $294,630 through the 2023 Emergency Support Services (ESS) grant. In 2023 alone through this ESS grant, the Indigenous Cultural Safety and Cultural Humility grant, and Intake #1 of the Disaster Risk Reduction / Climate Adaptation grant this amounts to $867,630.00 that the SRD has received through provincial emergency grant programs. I feel the key factor in our success rate is our regional approach to these grant applications (and emergency management in general) which very often involve multiple First Nation and local government’s as our partners. It goes to show the value and importance of relationships and comradery in emergency management.
This grant will be utilized to:
1. Undertake a Hosting with Humility Emergency Support Services Group Lodging Exercise. The goal is to strengthen our relationships and build the capacity of our regional Emergency Support Services Team to plan with neighboring First Nations, local governments and Emergency Management Climate Readiness personnel to collaboratively be prepared to host communities that have been displaced by a disaster.
2. Provide Reception Centre and Group Lodging training sessions to ESS volunteers.
3. Procure mass care group lodging supplies such as seacans for storage, lighting for seacans, outdoor toilets, blankets, 50-year shelf life water, generators, standup tents, propane stoves, space heaters, radios, and 25-year shelf life dehydrated food rations.
Our regional partners with this grant are the City of Campbell River, Ehattesaht First Nation, Homalco First Nation, Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations, Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, Nuchatlaht First Nation, and the Villages of Gold River, Sayward, Tahsis, and Zeballos.