Less than 48 hours.
That is how much notice residents of Yellowknife had to evacuate the city as the wildfire approached.
With the entire population of Yellowknife, including up to 450 teachers and their families, ordered to evacuate by August 18, the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has been working with the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association (NWTTA) to provide support to teachers and their families who may be displaced.
In response to the evacuation order, the ATA quickly mounted an online form to help match evacuated NWTTA members, staff and their families with host families in Alberta. Within a few days of the call for support, approximately 150 Alberta teachers and ATA staff offered billets in Edmonton, Calgary and other communities in the province.
“When teachers in Alberta experienced similar situations, we saw an outpouring of support from others across the country,” says Schilling, “It is important we be here now for our colleagues to mitigate the chaos and the stress.”
In addition to facilitating billets, the ATA is opening its office doors to NWTTA staff. Plans are in place to offer office space and infrastructure at Barnett House (Edmonton) and the Southern Alberta Regional Office (Calgary) to NWTTA staff to maintain operations. Barnett House will also be used, as needed, as gathering place for persons displaced.
“If we can help them in this moment of upheaval, we should,” Schilling says, “It is simply the right thing to do.”
To request assistance for an evacuee or to learn more about how to support our colleagues from Yellowknife, please visit the ATA’s website (www.teachers.ab.ca). Need more information? Please e-mail your questions to emergency@ata.ab.ca.
