Kimberley RCMP and a local church are working together to help residents in need throughout the community.
Detachment Commander Sgt. Steve Woodcox says the church reached out to the police to launch this partnership.
“We’ll occasionally come across people who need some assistance and we have the ability to ask them if we can call the church for help on their behalf,” said Woodcox.
“We’ve been able to bring food hampers to 10 families so far. Sometimes they’re victims of crime and sometimes we come into contact with people who are just having a hard time making ends meet.”
Woodcox says officers have been delivering these care packages from the church to those in need.
“The church puts together these food hampers and we’re able to bring them to families,” said Woodcox.
“There are some people who don’t want to reach out to the food bank, but they will accept assistance from the church through us. This has been an invaluable program and it’s something I wish we had years ago.”
These food deliveries offer more than help, they also build a connection between the local police and residents.
“If we bring something and help out a family once, we routinely follow up with them later and ask them if we can get them some help. In some cases, we have gone to people numerous times and got them help through the church,” explained Woodcox.
“It’s a wonderful thing and it’s a relationship we start with these families. Sometimes we’ll have someone to call them and check in to see if they need help.”
The program is still in its infancy, having just begun three months ago, but Woodcox hopes to see it grow.
“We want to improve the numbers with this, and I think the church volunteers would also like to see us do more,” said Woodcox.
“This is definitely something we want to carry on into the future and hopefully we reach more people.”
The church does not want to be named, but Woodcox is grateful for their service.
“I want to thank the church and their volunteers, they’re fantastic and very hard-working. We would not have been able to this program if it was not for their assistance,” said Woodcox.
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up to MyEastKootenayNow News Alerts.
