Wildfire evacuees need monetary donations more than physical items: United Way

KAMLOOPS — As wildfire evacuees from Lytton and other communities begin to put their lives back together, the generosity of B.C. Interior residents is once again being shown in spades.

However, that generosity can sometimes show up in ways that are less helpful than others.

United Way B.C. is one organization co-ordinating relief for evacuees, including residents of Lytton, whose community was mostly destroyed by fire last week.

Regional Director Katie Neustaeter says donations of goods have been piling up.

“Right now, what we’re hearing mostly is that physical goods needs have been met – and perhaps exceeded,” Neustaeter told CFJC Today. “We really want to shift toward monetary donations because we know that on the other side of this, vulnerable people will need to have really specific needs met.”

Lytton residents who no longer have homes and are staying in temporary housing arrangements require more short-term needs met, relating to food and housing.

“Hotel stays are being offered, although they are short term, which causes some concern for evacuees – what does that look like? That is a need that exists; that long-term housing while people figure out the next steps to take after losing a home,” said Neustaeter.

“Whether it’s gas cards that could be donated, restaurant gift cards are incredibly helpful and anything that kind of ties together those loops. Gift cards are always welcome,” she continued. “And of course we think about people staying in hotels right now and not necessarily having access to fresh foods, [things] like grocery gift cards are also really lovely to donate.”

Meantime, a United Way initiative that was a major support during the 2017 and 2018 wildfires has been brought back to life.

“United Way has relaunched the B.C. Wildfire Recovery Fund with an initial investment of $200,000 which, I believe, is unprecedented for a response like this. This was relaunched over the weekend, put together in a really fast way,” Neustaeter said. “The goal of this fund is to support people in recovery, but it’s also going to be a rolling fund that’s easy to access.”

In addition to the United Way, donations are being accepted through the aggregation service BC211 and scores of crowd-funding initiatives such as GoFundMe.