EMERGENCY SUPPORT SERVICES (ESS)

What Is Emergency Support Services?

Emergency Support Services (ESS) volunteers provide services that preserve the emotional and physical well-being of survivors and response workers in an emergency. They include, but are not limited to, reception, food services, lodging, clothing, registration and inquiry, personal, and financial services. Like search and rescue and several other types of volunteer groups, ESS is recognized as a Public Safety Lifeline (PSL) organization by the Government of BC. Most emergency survivors that ESS assists are evacuees.

ESS typically does not provide services to evacuees directly; rather, ESS refers evacuees to businesses, such as hotels, grocery stores, and restaurants, which have volunteered to participate in the ESS program. These businesses are known as ESS Suppliers. The Government of BC then reimburses ESS Suppliers for the services that they provide to evacuees. In recent years, ESS increasingly provides evacuees with direct financial support via Interac e-Transfer in lieu of referrals to specific ESS Suppliers.

ESS may be activated in response to events ranging from small housefires to large-scale evacuations. ESS typically provides services to evacuees for up to 72 hours; however, the BC Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR) may authorize services to be provided for longer if necessary.

The City of Merritt’s ESS program is called Merritt and Nicola Valley ESS and is led jointly by the City of Merritt Emergency Program Coordinator and a volunteer ESS Director.

ESS for Businesses

Businesses that have chosen to participate in the ESS program and receive ESS referrals are referred to as ESS Suppliers. ESS Suppliers in Merritt include many hotels, grocery stores, restaurants, and clothing stores. Merritt and Nicola Valley Emergency Support Services is extremely grateful for the important support that these businesses provide to the ESS program.

The best way for ESS Suppliers to be reimbursed for services that they provide to evacuees is to send pictures or scans of original ESS referral forms as well as any associated receipts or till tapes to essfinanceinquiries@gov.bc.ca. Alternatively, these documents can be mailed to:

ESS Finance
Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
PO Box 9201 STN PROV GOVT
Victoria BC V8W 9J1

To express interest in becoming an ESS Supplier or to ask a question about ESS Supplier reimbursement as it relates to Merritt, please email ess@merritt.ca.

For assistance invoicing the Government of BC, please call 1-800-585-9559 or email essfinanceinquiries@gov.bc.ca.