How The Red Cross Helps People Devastated By Events Like The Spring Floods
When Krista Snow bought a home on the Kingston Peninsula, she was prepared to deal with the minor basement flooding that came with the spring freshet. But she, along with many New Brunswick homeowners, was not prepared for the floodwaters in the spring of 2018.
“I knew when I bought the house that there was always an issue with freshet, and in that basement landing, I always had to run a few pumps. It was always manageable. It was a bit of a pain, but it was manageable,” says Snow. “In 2018, it was definitely a different story.”
The flooding got to the point where Snow was running four pumps non-stop. With the help of friends and neighbours she did her best to keep things under control with tarps and sandbags.
“I knew the next high tide I was pretty much going to lose it,” she says.
At around 3 a.m. on May 3, 2018, the water rose to the point where it was about to reach her home’s electrical panel. She called her electrician friend to come over and help shut off the power.
“He came over and we were kind of standing there and it was pitch black, but I had my flashlight on. I said, ‘See how the water is going all around the electrical outlet, I think we might have to pull it early,’ ” she says.
She no sooner said that when her basement door blew in.
“It practically blew off its hinges from just the pressure,” says Snow. “It basically took out my basement in a big way.”
Snow ended up having five feet of water in her basement and it was no longer safe to stay in her home. She started working through the process of claiming damages through EMO and cleaning up her home. She also signed up for the Canadian Red Cross, which helped with clean up kits and a cash card to help with cleanup costs.
That fall, she decided to raise her house in hopes of avoiding the same disaster again next spring. During the process, her water system got messed up and she was out of her home once again. With more work to be done on her house and expenses piling up, EMO put Snow in touch once again to the Red Cross. Snow got a phone call she didn’t expect.
“The Red Cross called and said, ‘we heard about your situation and how can we help?'” says Snow. “It pretty much brought tears to my eyes when they first called me.”
The Red Cross helped with some of the construction costs to finally get Snow back in her home. In Spring 2019, her home did not flood.
“It was a big decision to raise my house,” says Snow. “The water did come overland again this year and if I had not raised my house, I would have five feet of water in my basement again.”
Like many people in New Brunswick, Snow didn’t know the extent of the different ways the Red Cross can help New Brunswickers in need.
“They really stepped up,” says Snow. “I think when she called me, I broke down. I wasn’t expecting to get this support. It was just a helping hand that came out of nowhere and I was so thrilled to get it.”
What a lot of people also don’t know about the Canadian Red Cross is much of the work they do is powered by volunteers, people like Louise Carson who has been volunteering with the organization since 2005, when a giant Tsunami hit southeast Asia.
“At the time, I was working for NB Tel/Bell Aliant and they had a call for people to help with the donations. I was one of several that went and assisted with collecting donations at the call centre,” says Carson.
“Speaking with the volunteer coordinators, she was telling me what the Red Cross was doing which I really did not know anything about before. We talked several times and that’s when I decided to join.”
Volunteers are the backbone of the Red Cross, whether it’s helping communities across Canada recover and rebuild from large-scale disasters and emergencies or helping an individual or family who has lost their home in a fire. They also help assist elderly or isolated people in the community and even join thousands of others in helping its operations team digitally map vulnerable geographical areas.
“Every time that we speak with someone it’s ‘I didn’t know the Red Cross did this’ and ‘I didn’t know the Red Cross did that,” says Carson.
All of the work the Red Cross does is possible through fundraising efforts. One of the big fundraisers in New Brunswick is the Power of Humanity Awards Dinner. The high-profile event celebrates individuals who have made an enormous contribution to the community and is a great way for businesses and organizations to support the organization with a wonderful evening out.
This year’s Power Humanity Awards Dinner, taking place November 6 in Saint John, will honour Sandra Irving with the Humanitarian Award and Mira Stephenson with the Young Humanitarian Award. All proceeds raised from the event will go directly back to the work the Canadian Red Cross does right here in New Brunswick.
“Fundraising is very important,” says Carson. “I always say to people I give assistance to that this is money from New Brunswickers to help New Brunswickers.”
You can find out more information on the Power of Humanity Awards Dinner and how you or your business can support here.
This story is sponsored by the Canadian Red Cross.