Schools were closed in parts of Atlantic Canada on Wednesday as the region faced yet another onslaught of snow, freezing rain and howling winds, prolonging a winter season that has been difficult for many students and seniors.
Frequent storms have forced repeated shut downs of university counselling services and Meals on Wheels programs for seniors in the region, cutting people off from help and social contact.
Ken Fowler, director of Memorial University’s student counselling centre in St. John’s, urged anyone who might be struggling to ask for help. He also encouraged those who aren’t struggling to watch out for signs of distress in their friends and classmates.
“Check in on each other,” Fowler said in an interview. “Send a text, try to stay connected with people.”
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Wednesday began with a mosaic of weather warnings across much of Atlantic Canada. Environment Canada warned of freezing rain and ice buildup in parts of southern New Brunswick, P.E.I. and the northern half of Nova Scotia. In eastern Newfoundland, the weather agency called for up to 15 centimetres of snow, which would mix with ice pellets later in the day.
Schools were closed in parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Newfoundland.
In fact, Wednesday was at least the seventh snow day for schools in the St. John’s area since Jan. 1.
The frequent closures led to cancelled appointments for those who used the student counselling centre at Memorial, Fowler said. The storms kept students isolated and cooped up indoors, adding another stressor to a demographic already prone to loneliness and depression, he said.
“A lot of research says it’s a bunch of small things that, when they actually gather, they can make life really unmanageable,” Fowler said in an interview. “When you have a student that’s going through financial stress, or relationship issues, or are homesick, not being able to get to campus — which is a bit of an oasis for them — is a difficult thing.”
Sue Nesto, executive director of the Dartmouth Seniors Service Centre in Nova Scotia, said she had to cancel more meal delivery days this year than usual, cutting seniors off from much-needed food and companionship.
“For some people, that’s the only socialization they get,” Nesto said in an interview.
It broke her heart to cancel the service, but the volunteers who deliver the food are seniors, too, and they can’t be out in ferocious conditions, walking through knee-deep snow, she said.
The centre also offers a regular lunch. When a storm blows in and forces Nesto to close the doors, that lunch and social opportunity is no longer available, she said.
Most people she speaks to are taking the weather with a grain of salt, she said, adding that anybody who has lived in Nova Scotia all their lives knows to expect some wild weather.
“Though we’re certainly hearing a lot of ‘I’m tired of the weather,’ and hope that spring is going to come soon,” she said.
The first day of spring was technically March 20, but the weather hasn’t caught up yet.
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