GORE BAY—The town of Gore Bay will be accepting applications from those local residents who live independently without 24-hour care, who have a disability or condition which makes them at higher risk to be contacted during a widespread emergency.
“This is another way for the town to look after its vulnerable population,” stated Mike Addison, Gore Bay Fire Chief at a meeting with town council last week.
“This is a well overdue program,” stated Gore Bay Mayor Ron Lane.
“I am here tonight to request council’s authority to go ahead with this project, and for the town to sign a confidentiality agreement with Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre Acorn Information Solutions to put this vulnerable registry in place,” said Mr. Addison. He noted the vulnerable persons registry was initiated in Sault Ste. Marie in 2011. In 2019 the VPR expanded into parts of Manitoulin-Sudbury and Algoma regions. In 2020 the program was expanded into all parts of Manitoulin-Sudbury and Algoma.”
The VPR is a free, confidential service for any person who lives independently without 24-hour care, who has severe difficulty with any of the following: mobility, vision hearing, developmental/intellectual, cognitive, mental health, difficulty with speech and language or use life-sustaining equipment that requires electricity. The VPR is used by emergency management coordinators during large scale emergencies to assist those most vulnerable.
“It’s a free program,” said Mr. Addison. Start-up funding had been received from the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB). The VPR is partly funded by the United Way of Ontario, the Sault Ste. Marie Accessibility Centre funding, and partially through DSSABs.”
Mr. Addison outlined who is considered vulnerable. No medical documentation is required and registration is considered on a case-by-case basis, however, generally anyone with mobility issues, vision or hearing impairment, cognitive or intellectual impairment, serious mental illness, or are reliant on electricity for life-sustaining equipment is eligible.
“Who is considered vulnerable is anyone with a disability or condition that makes them at higher risk,” said Mr. Addison. “We had that power outage two years ago in the winter where the temperature dipped to -20 C. No one had hydro, and anyone who for instance was on oxygen equipment would have access to this assistance. People rely on power for heat, and during the power outage we were without power for 12 hours. I heard from several people who said they had almost froze to death during this outage.”
“When this program was presented in 2020, only two Island municipalities didn’t sign up and we (Gore Bay) were one of them,” said Mr. Addison. He explained the VPR is a confidential list that would indicate residents who need to be checked on during an emergency. “It would give us the ability to contact these persons and find out what they need,” said Mr. Addison, who noted there is no liability to the town. He noted a representative of VPR is willing to come from the Sault to make a presentation on the program and set up the registry.
“I think it makes sense to have this program in place,” said Mr. Addison. “It is another thing to protect our citizens.”
The VPR coordinator maintains the database and communications to emergency management personnel. The first of each month, the VPR coordinator contacts the emergency person in each area to remind them to upload the current data for the month. Partners must do so by the 15th of each month to ensure they have the most accurate information. In Sault Ste. Marie and Elliot Lake, a shapefile is sent to fire services through GIS mapping. Each municipality is responsible for appointing a person to extract monthly data.
The VPR is staffed by one full-time employee who oversees managing the registry, ensuring it is update and accurate, marketing and promoting the program and presenting to potential registrants through community engagement sessions with service providers. Registrants are contacted by the VPR coordinator every six months to ensure information is accurate.
“Again, we are just asking council to consider being part. This as another tool to provide safety to our residents,” said Mr. Addison. “We have a couple of volunteers who said they would help with the registrants sign up.”
Mayor Lane said, “I was surprised to hear we don’t have this registry in place here. And I see why it is needed.”
Council passed a motion to proceed with the VPR and for the mayor to sign the confidentiality agreement.
