Emergency Social Services
Emergency Social Services is another critical component of SEP. Volunteer members trained in the provision of emergency food, clothing, and shelter, whether for one family, a neighbourhood, or most of the community.
Click to download our Emergency Prepardness Guide - 72 hours Is Your Family Prepared (.pdf format)
Primary Services
- Emergency Food
- Clothing
- Lodging
- Family Reunification
Specialized Services
- Personal Services
- Volunteer Services
- Communications
- First Aid
- Health Services
- Public Information
- Financial Services
- Child Care
- Pet Care
- Transportation
In our community your local ESS volunteers plan for and deliver emergency social services.
Emergency Social Services (ESS), is an emergency response program made up of individuals who share a common goal of assisting people in an emergency.
ESS provides services on a short-term basis (generally for 72 hours) to preserve the emotional and physical well being of evacuees and response workers in emergency situations.
Emergency management is defined as an organized effort to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from an emergency and /or disaster. The purpose of emergency management is to save lives,reduce suffering,protect property,protect the environment and reduce economic and social losses.
The ESS Program plays an important role in emergency management by:
- Helping people remain independent and self-sufficient.
- Helping people meet their basic survival needs during a disaster.
- Reuniting families separated by disaster.
- Providing people with accurate and up-to date information about the situation at hand.
- Helping people re-establish themselves as quickly as possible after a disaster.
- Helping a community work through the recovery process.
In Squamish we have a dedicated group of ESS volunteers who are always ready to respond. House fires are an emergency we respond to at any given time, whether it be holidays or weekends, we are ready to assist. We are there for emergencies such as flooding,interface fires,rock slides,unforeseen road closures and many more situations where people require assistance for food, clothing and lodging.
We also have plenty of room for more volunteers. You will receive lots of training all provided free of charge,including Level One First Aid and Food Safe.
We have hosted the Loggers Days Parade and provided the food services for the Brackendale Fall Fair. We provide assistance for the Santa Parade, Test of Metal and many other local events. During these events we raise money for the Squamish Emergency Program Society.
We also offer Neighbourhood Preparedness Programs for strata corporations where everyone would be involved in creating a self-sufficient neighbourhood during a prolonged disaster. If you are interested in the Neighbourhood Preparedness Program, please contact the Squamish Emergency Program.