Prince Rupert among Northwest communities to receive funding for Emergency Social Services

The City of Prince Rupert will be able to move forward with a volunteer recruitment project, with the province about to deliver 14,100 dollars towards the level one training, recruitment and deployment of a larger team to assist with Emergency Social Services in the area.

City Council heard about the funding opportunity from David Geronazzo, the Director of Recreation and Community services, who outlined the details of the funding program back in October and offered up a glimpse of some of the work of the local Emergency Services Program at the time.

You can learn more about the City's Emergency Social Services program here and here.

The funding was part of two million dollars in a funding program hosted by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, with the roll out of the successful communities released today.

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice was among the government officials to make comment on the funding of today, part of a larger plan that will help communities prepare for and respond to disasters.

“During the unprecedented flooding and wildfires this past couple of years, I’ve seen first-hand how emergency social services volunteers work tirelessly to make a difference ... Emergency social services provide a first step forward for a community that has suffered an emergency by providing assistance to meet immediate needs and helping people find a path forward after an emergency.”

Other Northwest communities to receive funding today included:

Bulkley Nechako Regional District
$24,864 -- Mobile ESS Unit

Gransile 
$29,958 -- Building capacity

Houston
$37,200 -- Increased capacity project

Nisga'a Lisims Government
$25,000 -- Capacity Building project

Smithers/Telkwa
$58,555 -- Mobile Storage project

Stewart
$34,769 -- Storage Container project


You can review the details of each of the projects here.

More on today's announcement can be reviewed here.

Further background on provincial announcements can be reviewed through our Legislature archive, while City of Prince Rupert discussion topics can be explored here.