LA LOCHE — Every morning, Martha Morin takes her usual journey into the commons area of the Dene High School in La Loche.
The athletics banners and awards remain and aboriginal artwork flows down the halls, but there are no students since the school's closure in March. Now the school, and Morin, have taken on a new purpose as La Loche’s emergency operation centre and Morin its director.
Instead of looking after 400 students, Morin, the former Northern Lights School Division’s wellness co-ordinator, and her team look after 4,000 residents in La Loche and the surrounding area.
After working at the centre every day from eight to 16 hours for the last month, Morin said she knows they are doing things right as she watches the number of active COVID-19 cases in the north decrease, especially in La Loche.
“Even with the mass door-to-door testing, our numbers are flattening, which, I felt like ‘OK, so we're on the right track. All this hard work is paying off.’”
As the situation changed from day to day, there is always a new challenge that Morin and her team have to face in a safe and respectful manner, she said. Their purpose: helping their community get through COVID-19.
And Morin is not alone as they face every situation with compassion and care. The centre team also includes isolation unit manager managers Farris Lemaigre and Candace Janvier; supply and distribution managers Stacy and Peggy Janvier; and homeless shelter co-ordinator Randy Janvier. Bertina Janvier does a lot of the really hard work, said Morin, as the main housekeeper in charge of “cleaning up after COVID.”
The team also includes a dedicated group of around 20 volunteers who are doing everything from organizing donations to making deliveries and pickups for residents within a 60 kilometre radius around La Loche. Volunteer and community safety is the No. 1 concern of the centre. The COVID-19 problem is not going to be solved by a few people, Morin said, and people are recognizing that.
“It's absolutely amazing how many people are stepping up. After the initial fear of COVID and once they’re more understanding of how it works, it is possible to go out if you're safe and do things. We're very careful with our volunteers. We want them to be safe while they're distributing stuff.”
Following the closures of Saskatchewan schools, Morin continued her work with the Northern Lights School Division from her home in La Loche. The wellness co-ordinator position was quite new when she started co-ordinating supports for students, everything from incoming social workers and addiction counselors to public health and massage therapists.
Morin was already working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority on getting a medical clinic running within the school before the Health Authority recruited her to direct the operation centre from Dene High School starting on April 19. Ever since then, Morin hasn’t had the opportunity to take a day off. She was happy to report that she did get a Saturday afternoon nap in during the Victoria Day weekend but besides that work at the centre keeps her busy every day of the week.
Ever since it opened, Morin’s days vary but a usual day includes answering voicemails and emails, standing meetings with staff and community leaders, and working on the floor with the rest of her team and volunteers starting at 8 a.m. and sometimes going until midnight, all the while her phone continues to ding as even more calls and text messages for support flood in.
Every week there is a new challenge to face, she said, especially as new issues change her community. Elders with medical issues without their own vehicle cannot get rides from someone outside their household so they have no way of getting their prescriptions filled. Volunteers have been able to step up and make those pickups for them. Many residents in the area have no access to potable water so when stores closed down, Morin and her team had to figure out how to distribute water safely and within public health guidelines. The recent closure of the liquor store in La Loche has meant a new alcohol management program for the centre to support and manage. The centre is in charge of the isolation camp and the homeless shelter so the centre team had to figure out how to keep them running safely and effectively.
For every challenge there are growing pains but also many successes, Morin said. Every donation and every volunteer is a joy for Morin, and the fact the northern village, the Métis Nation and the First Nation communities in the La Loche area are banding together to fight the spread of the virus is amazing to see, she said.
“I'm inspired by the fact that I know my community is a strong, resilient community. They just need help at this time, and we can do it.”
When the pandemic is over, Morin is looking forward to visiting her two children and two grandchildren. But after going so hard for so long, she also suspects she will sleep for a day and then wonder what to do next.
For now, Morin said the emergency operations centre is here for any one in need.
