Rose Snyder came before council on March 11 to discuss TR Cares and what needs the organization has.
She began by discussing the history of the organization, which began in 2001 as an ad hoc group of neighbours, friends and a church group that came together to help transport people who had come to Tumbler Ridge as part of the housing sale, only to find out there was only a clinic in town, and no transportation to medical appointments out of town. “That was done on a shirttail and a quarter—quite literally—and a 21 year old van,” says Snyder. “We were donated a 15 year old van, and at that point we had started the paperwork to create a society, TR Cares.”
That was supposed to be the organization’s name, but the government vetoed it. So the organization now has a “seven foot long name”, according to Snyder, but everyone calls it TR Cares.
“At the time we incorporated, we looked around the community and asked what was missing? What could we do to help unite the new Tumbler Ridge of 2000–2001. And one thing that was missing was a lot of societies with members. We had more than half of our community disappear overnight. So the mandate of TR Cares included at that time which being an umbrella group for other groups. When we finally become a society in 2003, we had other organizations under us as a registered charity society so they didn’t have to go through all of that work to become a registered charity. These were groups such as soccer teams, the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and groups like that. We had Restorative Justice, Citizens on Patrol, the DARE funding and the Safe House.”
While the organization provides an umbrella for these groups, it does not run them, and they are obligated to keep their own records and books and report to TR Cares every year.
One of the biggest issues facing TR Cares is the same that faces many societies and groups around town. “In the last number of years volunteerism has declined dramatically,” says Snyder.
“We started before the Northern Health Bus Service began. I was on council in 2003, and I was at a regional district meeting and there was a proposal for a new thing called the Northern Health Bus, but it didn’t come to Tumbler Ridge. I went and talked to the Northern Health representative and asked if there would be a way to contract with them to help us continue operating. With that we started negotiations with Northern Health. Since 2006 we have had that contract in place. It has altered and changed throughout the years to meet demands and funding needs.”
She says that contract is adequate to allow the organization to continue to operate at the level it currently does. “We have not asked for any support or grants from the district in quite a long time. Probably since 2018 or 2019. We fundraise on our own to get enough money and contracts. We have just negotiated two more years on the current contract.”
Up until a few years ago, TR Cares was obligated to provide transportation to Dawson Creek one day a week, one day a month to Fort St. John and to Grande Prairie for specific appointments, as well as travel to Chetwynd to meet the Northern Health Bus.
However, these days, the TR Cares shuttle travels to Dawson Creek two days a week, six times a year to Fort St. John, as there are not as many specialists there as there used to be. “We are not currently going to Grande Prairie, with the exception of trips to see the heart specialist and also an allergist.”
At least, that’s what they are obligated to do. In reality, she says, they typically travel about three times that much per year. Sometime in the next two years, TR Cares expects to pass one million kilometres driven. “That’s a lot of kilometres,” says Snyder. “It’s also important to note we have no employees. We’re all volunteer. We do offer an honorarium so that there’s no expense incurred by our volunteers, because sometimes there out for 10 hours, and I don’t want to lose a volunteer because they can’t afford to eat. And sometimes, they may buy a meal for a patient or things like that so we do try to offer that.
TR Cares also offers a couple other programs, including the safe shelter program. “For obvious reasons I can’t delve into too much,” she says. But, she does say that it is not just a women’s shelter, but includes men. “We are the only program north of Vancouver providing safe shelter for men, when available.”
They also have a legal fund so that people with no money can get a legal opinion—wills, divorce settlements, etc. “We do not touch anything to do with criminal courts,” says Snyder.
Finally, they have a small bursary fund for four graduates every year.
Snyder is aware of the program’s limitations. “We will never meet the needs of everybody in this community,” she says.
That has led to some problems. A few years ago, a local called Minister of Health Adrien Dix’s office to complain about TR Cares. But with just one van and a group of volunteer drivers, they just can’t go everywhere that people need to go.
“I understand the anxiety that they’re going through,” she says. “When my husband got cancer, we never could take TR Cares because it didn’t meet our schedule, and he manages all of the coordination with the drivers! There’s irony. But you have to make a schedule to try to meet the days of the specialists in Dawson Creek and in Fort St. John and we do our best to make it work.
“We really wish we could meet everybody’s needs but if we go that one step higher, TR cares would not be managing the contract because it would require certain licensing and everybody would have to have the right driver’s license and we would have to pay a lot of money just to use the road as a transport vehicle.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.