District 73 grappling with short-term, long-term needs of evacuee families from Merritt

KAMLOOPS — Even with the prospect residents could get back into flood-stricken Merritt soon – many do not have livable homes waiting for them.

That raises the prospect of an extended time out of the city.

Superintendent Rhonda Nixon says the Kamloops-Thompson School District is preparing to welcome dozens of families whose children can no longer attend Merritt schools – which are within the Nicola-Similkameen district.

Nixon says those students’ needs will be highly varied.

“There were 168 families who have responded, saying, ‘We are going to be in Kamloops.’ We haven’t met all 168 but we certainly have put our information out there for them to contact us,” Nixon told CFJC Today. “Over this next week, we’re hoping that, through [Nicola-Similkameen Superintendent Stephen McNiven] and our team here, we will get in touch with families who didn’t come out this weekend or email us or [make themselves] available.”

“It isn’t just about schooling, but also about connecting and listening and seeing what their needs are,” she continued. “Just in talking, we learn that they’re so different. Each family has left very different circumstances. Some left and they actually don’t know if they can get back to their homes and some left their homes but felt that they could have stayed — they went out of an abundance of caution.”

Nixon notes an event held over the weekend gathered supplies and support to help those Merritt families who lost so much.

“We had, over the weekend, more than 80 families, which was more than what we thought and we were very pleased,” she said. “The families came over, we were able to give them food, we had volunteers from across the school system who were helping them find clothing in their sizes, toys for their children, toiletries, cash and gift cards.”

Over the longer term, Nixon and McNiven will try to sketch out a clearer picture of how their respective districts can work together to accommodate the evacuees.

“In some of the families’ cases, it’s not going to be a quick turnaround time to come back home,” said Nixon. “We talked about short-term and long-term plans and we made the assumption that some people who start schooling here may want to finish it here this year instead of bouncing around.”

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