Officials with Strait Area Ground Search and Rescue in Antigonish, N.S., say the future of their organization is in question due to a lack of funds.
Ground Search and Rescue or GSAR is staffed completely by volunteers who donate their time and energy to help search for people who have gone missing. They only receive $3,000 annually in operational funding from the provincial government.
Cecil Cashin, president of the organization, says the group is in need of financial help and without it, will likely be ceasing operations later this year.
Cashin says the Strait Area Ground Search and Rescue team purchased a building to house equipment and conduct training in 2015. The group contributed $25,000 of their own funds but still owe an additional $60,000 on the building.
If that money is not paid in full by the Dec. 16 deadline, GSAR will be without a building and lose the $25,000 they’ve already put down.
Cashin says the organization has already went to all seven municipalities that they serve in the Strait Area, including Antigonish, Guysbrough and Inverness, but so far no government has committed to help fund the volunteer group.
A lot of people just don’t realize how important ground search & rescue is,” said Cashin, who notes that volunteers are on call 24-hours a day, 7-days a week to help those in need.
If the Strait Area Ground Search and Rescue team cannot get the funds they need by December, Cashin says they will have “no other choice” but to close their doors.
“We can’t go back to the old days,” said Cashin.
Before the group had a building, volunteers would be responsible for housing equipment in their own residences. Cashin it’s unrealistic to go back to that system.
“Timing is crucial,” Cashin says of looking for a lost person.
He is hoping that the provincial government will step in and help the organization so they can continue to help others in need.
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