Donation drive to lend helping hand to flood evacuees seeking refuge in Kelowna

It’s been five long days for residents of Merritt, B.C., who were ordered out of their homes on Monday following a destructive rainstorm.

“We’re going to be glad to get back home, ” said Merritt resident Allan Vestre. “It’s not knowing when we can return that’s difficult.”

The entire city was evacuated after the Coldwater River burst its banks and caused a complete failure of the municipality’s wastewater treatment plant.

While Vestre’s home didn’t get flooded, he knows a lot of people who weren’t as fortunate.

“So many of our friends and acquaintances downtown are going to be devastated,” he told Global News. “It’s been horrible.”

Roughly 1,000 evacuated residents from Merritt as well as Princeton have come to Kelowna to access emergency support services (ESS) and more may be on the way.

“We were very, very busy yesterday,” said Beryl Itani, ESS reception manager. “We are what’s called a host community.”

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Through the province’s ESS program, evacuees can access things like hotel and food vouchers but with supply chain problems, it’s a been a challenging time for those affected.

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“It’s very tough,” Itani said. “In all the years that I’ve been doing this, this is the worst I’ve ever seen as far as as evacuees, in terms of not having enough supplies for people.”

But the community is stepping up to help.

“We are continually getting phone calls all day long, every day…what can I do to help the evacuees and so we have a very caring community who wants to help,” said Jennifer Henson, an officer with the Westside Salvation Army.

With so many offers to help, the Salvation Army has partnered up with Willow Park Church in Kelowna’s Rutland area to host a donation drive this weekend.

The public can drop off donations at the church on Saturday and Sunday that will be distributed to those affected by the flooding. Gently-used winter clothing is among the things evacuees need.

“Winter jackets, nice warm gloves, hats, boots, or warm shoes, particularly those that are water resistant, brand new socks, brand new under-garments, toiletries,” Henson said.

“If anybody wants to throw in extra little things like Kleenex or some gum or some candies, those are also nice.”

Gas and grocery gift cards will also be accepted.

For some of the evacuees, having to access support services and community donated items is an all too familiar scene.

“Some of these people were evacuated this summer because of forest fires, and now they’re evacuated again because of floods and mudslides,” Itami said.

And while ESS does provide food and hotel vouchers, for some there are still quite a bit of out-of-pocket expenses.

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For instance, Allan Vetre has a pet and a family member with mobility issues, so the family found a place other than a hotel that’s more suitable for their needs, but it comes at a cost.

“We are having to cover our own accommodation and there’s lots of money out of pocket,” he said.

It’s hoped this weekend’s donation drive helps soften the blow for those affected.

“The evacuees, they can just come into the Willow Park church lobby, and they have volunteers there ready to help them,” Henson said.

Willow Park church is located at 439 Highway 33.

Donations can be dropped of on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 12 p.m to 5 p.m.