Bowen Island ESS-Emergency Support Services

02/24/2026

Emergency Support Services Group Lodging Course

What is Emergency Support Services Group Lodging?
Group lodging facilities are public facilities that are not normally used for living purposes, but have been adapted to provide shelter style accommodations for large numbers of people who have been displaced from their homes as a result of an emergency or disaster.
Bowen Island ESS is offering this community led Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) course on Saturday March 21st at Bowen Island Firehall 1045 Miller Rd 8:30- 12 noon.
EMRG 1612 - Introduction ESS Group Lodging
Learn how to adapt facilities to shelter style accommodation for people displaced from their homes during a disaster. This three and a half (3.5) hour course covers the fundamentals for ESS responders who may be called upon to work in or support the activities at a group lodging facility.
Prerequisite: EMRG 1600 Introduction to Emergency Support Services
or EMRG 1635 Evacuee Registration and Supports
Please contact Carolyn at [email protected] to register

02/10/2026

ESS volunteers

Thursday February 26th, 6-8pm Emergency Support Services Tech & Talk night (drop in 6-8pm on Thursday, Feb 26 at FH #1) for volunteers who could use a bit of peer support in completing some of the steps or who can share their expertise/experience.

Saturday February 28th 8:30am- Noon EMRG 1600 Introduction to ESS
Prerequisite: EMRG 1600 Introduction to Emergency Support Services or EMRG 1635 Evacuee Registration and Supports. (NOTE: If you haven’t taken one of the prerequisite courses and are interested in attending on March 1st, let us know ASAP as we can help you complete the 3 hour Intro to ESS before March 1.

Please reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator Jeanine at [email protected] )

Sunday March 1st 1-4pm EMRG 1610 Introduction to Reception Centres
Bowen Island ESS is offering this community led JIBC course on Sunday March 1st at Bowen Island Firehall 1045 Miller Rd
Please contact Carolyn at [email protected] to register!

EMRG 1610 - Introduction to Reception ESS Centres
The JIBC (Justice Institute of BC) 1610 course focuses on Introduction to Reception Centres for Emergency Support Services (ESS) responders. Reception Centres are designated locations for individuals displaced from their homes due toemergencies or disasters. This course covers the fundamentals ESS volunteers require to work in a Reception Centre and provide essential services such as food, clothing, and lodging.
Prerequistite: EMRG 1600 Introduction to Emergency Support Services or EMRG 1635 Evacuee Registration and Supports. (NOTE: See prerequisite above on February 28 Introduction to ESS course)

02/04/2026

EMRG 1610 - Introduction to Reception Centres
The JIBC (Justice Institute of BC) 1610 course focuses on Introduction to Reception Centres for Emergency Support Services (ESS) responders. Reception Centres are designated locations for individuals displaced from their homes due to emergencies or disasters. This course covers the fundamentals ESS volunteers require to work in a Reception Centre and provide essential services such as food, clothing, and lodging.
Prerequistite: EMRG 1600 Introduction to Emergency Support Services or EMRG 1635 Evacuee Registration and Supports. (NOTE: If you haven’t taken one of the prerequisite courses and are interested in attending on March 1st, let us know ASAP as we can help you complete the 3 hour Intro to ESS before March 1. Please reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator Jeanine at [email protected] )
Bowen Island ESS is offering this community led JIBC course on Sunday March 1st at Bowen Island Firehall 1045 Miller Rd 1pm – 4pm
Please contact Carolyn at [email protected] to register!

01/09/2026

Please note.
This course is cancelled and will be rescheduled for April 2026.

Bowen Island ESS is facilitating the JIBC Course EMRG 1612 Introduction to Group Lodging on Sunday February 1st from 1-4pm at Bowen Island Firehall 1045 Miller Rd
Details:
Learn how to adapt facilities to shelter style accommodation for people displaced from their homes during a disaster. This three and a half (3.5) hour course covers the fundamentals for ESS responders who may be called upon to work in or support the activities at a group lodging facility. Prerequisite – EMRG – 1600 Introduction to ESS
Please register by phone or email to Carolyn.


Carolyn McDonald
Emergency Support Services Director
Cell: 604 803 3130

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/ess
[email protected]

01/06/2026

Bowen Island Emergency Support Services and the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) are offering this course, EMRG-1635: Intro to Evacuee Registration and Supports on Bowen Island on Saturday January 24, 2025. 8:30am-4:30pm
If you want to attend please register by Wednesday January 14th by email or phone. See below. This is an all day course with a JIBC instructor.

This course teaches the basics of BC's Emergency Support Services (ESS) program, and how to use the Evacuee Registration and Assistance (ERA) tool for providing evacuees with supports, and how registering with the use of the BC Services Card app helps facilitate the delivery of financial supports electronically to evacuees. This includes learning how the ESS program operates, guidelines for interviewing evacuees, and hands-on practice registering and providing support using the ERA system.

During an evacuation, ESS operations in a Reception Centre will be much more efficient and effective if enough volunteers who have taken this training course ahead of time can respond and thus instantly be assigned duties to start helping evacuees in the Registration and Referrals process.

Carolyn McDonald
Emergency Support Services Director
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 604 8033130

11/09/2025

Looking for person/s, hopefully on island, to teach indigenous arts or craft workshop. Please respond by message here or email [email protected]

10/27/2025

Introduction to Emergency Support Services (ESS) is being held on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at Firehall #1, 1-4pm on Miller Road. This free course is ideal for anyone wanting to know how ESS prepares for an emergency, and for those who may be interested in helping evacuees in our community in the case of a disaster. This is a free session with no obligations other than to become more aware of how we support our community. Attendees will receive credit on a transcript through Justice Institute of BC (JIBC). Please register ASAP via email to [email protected]

09/28/2025

Insurance and Emergency Preparedness
Preparing for the future
It’s important to get insurance if you are able. A good time to get insurance is when you buy a home, rent a new place, or move into a new property.
Always make sure you’re covered before an emergency happens. During major weather events or disasters, insurance companies may temporarily pause new policies in high-risk areas, so getting insurance early is recommended.
When preparing your grab-and-go bag, don’t forget to include digital copies of your policy documents or account login details.

For more information:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/make-your-plan/insurance?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Four-Phases---September-2025-newsletter&utm_source=Envoke-Community-News-%28monthly-newsletter%29&utm_term=Four-Phases---September-2025-newsletter-from-Emergency-Managando

09/24/2025

***important update: Unfortunately we have to cancel the Oct 4th session, but we are taking registration for Saturday, November 8th. Email [email protected]

Please pass this information of the Emergency Support Services Course on to friends and neighbours. You never know when a disaster will happen and your help will be greatly appreciated. No commitment, just an introduction!

09/18/2025