The Salvation Army (Sunshine Coast Community Church and Ministries) announced this week the arrival of its own community crisis response unit (CCRU).
There are currently 13 such vehicles in use by the Salvation Army in B.C. In disaster situations, whether on the local or provincial level. The Salvation Army emergency response teams can deploy the unit within hours to respond. Featuring a self-contained and self-generating kitchen unit, the CCRU is used to provide hot meals and refreshments to emergency personnel, other support workers and victims at the disaster site. Volunteers are trained to also provide emotional and spiritual support to anyone involved in the crisis. During the Okanagan wildfires in 2003, volunteers working in seven mobile kitchen units served more than 50,000 meals over a six-week period.
Envoy Bruce Kirk, commanding officer of Sunshine Coast Community Church and Ministries Unit anticipates the CCRU will furnish a much-needed resource to local emergency response teams and provide assistance to first responders, such as the RCMP, in emergency situations.
When it is not attending to crises, the CCRU will be used in a soup kitchen ministry, providing hot food and drinks to residents in need. Due to its mobility, the unit will serve at a rotation of locations on the Sunshine Coast.
"We hope to provide not only soup and sandwiches but also warm clothes and blankets to anyone in need," Kirk said.
The Salvation Army is the largest non-governmental provider of social services in the world and has been serving the province since 1887. It is estimated that one-third of British Columbian residents have received assistance from the Salvation Army's extensive range of services.
To learn more about these programs, volunteer opportunities or to donate, please contact Dilys Chiew at 604-886-3665.
