As emergency officials from neighbouring Alberta prepare to remove the evacuation order and permit families to return to Fort McMurray, B.C. is lending a hand, including deployment of mental health workers to support those facing the uncertain realities of returning home to their evacuated town.

Through mutual aid agreements between the two provinces, the B.C. Provincial Health Services Authority is sending 20 specially-trained volunteers from the Disaster Psychosocial Program to provide assistance to evacuees and responders beginning June 1. The first deployment of 10 volunteers leaves today and will be replaced by another shift of 10 on June 6; more will be made available as needed.

“No one who sees a disaster is untouched by it – that’s our mantra,” said Heleen Sandvik, provincial lead of the Disaster Psychosocial Program (DPS). “We provide the support system that helps people get back on their feet and move forward after the disaster. People and communities are resilient, but sometimes the added support is needed, particularly as the days after disaster stretch into weeks, and shock subsides into stress, or even trauma and grief from the event and feelings of loss or uncertainty.”

DPS began with the idea that professional registered therapists and other clinicians would consider volunteering their time in the event of a large scale emergency or disaster to respond to the psychosocial needs of the public and responders before, during and after an event. Since 2012, DPS has trained more than 3,000 people, and last year alone, provided support to 20 separate events in B.C.

• Reporters are invited to call the media line to arrange an interview with Heleen Sandvik, provincial lead of the Disaster Psychosocial Program.

The latest deployment of social support staff augments a team of four sent by Emergency Management BC (EMBC) that already have boots on the ground in Alberta. The team deployed last week from Victoria to Edmonton are helping augment the Alberta Recovery Task Force and setting the conditions for the planned re-entry and recovery phases. The team consists of two personnel from EMBC with expertise in emergency management planning, critical infrastructure and recovery, as well as disaster financial assistance and business continuity. The team also includes the CAO from the City of Kelowna who has extensive Emergency Operations Centre experience and a manager from BC Housing  who has damage assessment and disaster lodging expertise.

• Reporters are invited to call the media line to arrange an interview with Johanna Morrow, manager of recovery and funding programs at EMBC who is currently deployed in Alberta.

In addition to the disaster psycho-social support, B.C. has provided:

• $300,000 donation from the Government of British Columbia to the Canadian Red Cross.
• $384,089 generously donated by British Columbians at BC Liquor Stores from May 3-29.
• 191 firefighters and support personnel from BC Wildfire Services are lending assistance.

Since the evacuation, B.C. has provided:

• As of May 31, B.C. has 155 firefighters, 44 support staff including an incident management team, 5 helicopters and 3 pieces of heavy equipment fighting the cross-border Siphon Creek fire, which is now 60% contained.
• 150 RCMP tactical troop and traffic service officers from throughout B.C. were temporarily redeployed to Northern Alberta at the request of the federal government.
• Ministry of Education worked with school districts to support Alberta students relocating to British Columbia schools to complete the years’ studies.
• BC Vital Statistics Agency has provided free replacement birth certificates to people born in B.C. that lost their documentation in the Fort McMurray fire.

British Columbians who wish to contribute to the Canadian Red Cross campaign can do so by calling toll-free 1 800 418-1111 or donating online at: http://ow.ly/YQT73000Q5s