In the aftermath of the 9/11 devastation, Misericordia chaplains Ardelle Quigley and Ethel Steinkey, and Edmonton General chaplain Marj Pettinger, recognized a need for increased spiritual care.
During their two-week mission to Ground Zero, the three chaplains worked hand in hand with the American Red Cross Spiritual Care Aviation Incident Response Team (SAIR). Founded in 1998, SAIR works closely with the Red Cross to provide physical, mental health and spiritual care to victims and families.
'Working alongside the volunteers at Ground Zero, it was clear that the presence of Spiritual Care workers was so important, " says '. Ethel. 'We began to wonder what services were available to people in Canada." Marj adds that the trip to New York made the three questions whether Canadians needed better access to spiritual care workers in times of crisis. She says that being present at Ground Zero raised their awareness of new needs for the people and new questions for the chaplains.
Upon returning to Canada, all three Caritas chaplains joined the Red Cross. Shortly after, they put forth a proposal to develop a Spiritual Care Emergency Response Team (SCERT) in conjunction with the Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education (CAPPE). SCERT was mandated as an arm of the Central and Northern Region Red Cross in Alberta on December 10, 2002.
"The mission of SCERT is to ensure appropriate spiritual care is provided to those affected by disasters," explains Ardelle. "Any time the need arises, the Red Cross Disaster Services will contact volunteers from SCERT to provide on site spiritual care."
Currently there are five members registered with SCERT. They are all Caritas chaplains and registered members of CAPPE. The next step for the Caritas chaplains is to increase membership within SCERT. The program has been presented nationally to the Canadian Red Cross and they are arranging to bring SAIR training to Canada with a nation-wide invitation to qualified chaplains.
Ethel's simple way of summarizing the progress she and her colleagues have made. 'We are women of vision. We look beyond our own lives to serve the people."
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