Dear Editor,
I recently attended the “Be Emergency Ready” workshop being offered, for free, by the City of Maple Ridge.
I’m writing to celebrate this service and say ‘thank you’ for a workshop that was so well delivered.
Creating an emergency preparedness kit and plan for my family has been on my to-do list for years.
It’s something I know we should have and I’ve just never got around to it.
The many times I have started this project I’ve gone to the internet, looked at the overwhelming number of resources and information, and stopped there. I’ve even asked Chat GPT to narrow it down for me in recent years. Yet, still no action taken by me past the research stage.
I saw this two-hour workshop was being offered, and I’m really glad I went.
It is free, and they are held at the library.
The facilitator was excellent. Very well informed and delivered the content in a clear, easy to digest format. I liked that the info was specific to our area of Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows first, then surrounding areas, and including a few things to think about province or country wide.
I left with a toolkit of very usable information, new awareness of emergency situations I didn’t know about, and the fire to take action on planning for my own family.
I did it a few months ago and have since written a plan, built a home kit, two car kits and a go-bag.
I’ve prepared myself with a couple of helpful apps that I learned about and pre-registered for emergency assistance from the province, in case we ever need it.
I have also shared important information with other people in my community both within Maple Ridge and around the province.
When I attended there was a wide demographic of folks, and I could tell that everyone was walking away with something valuable.
I took my four-month-old baby (who slept the whole time, I wouldn’t recommend taking children who couldn’t be quiet for two hours) and the facilitator didn’t bat an eye.
An important message and reminder to us all – it is your individual responsibility to take care of yourself, then your family, and then your community during an emergency.
You will be much more able to care for yourself and others if you are prepared.
It would be awesome for as many of us to have this education as possible, so that we can care for each other as a community if we are faced with a severe emergency in the future.
Thank you to the city for helping us be prepared!
Workshops are offered on various days and times to meet the varying needs of the community. In Maple Ridge at mapleridge.ca or click here Register online. In Pitt Meadows, information is found online at pittmeadows.ca.
Megan Bearman, Maple Ridge