CERV Middlesex Answers the Call With an increasing number of natural and human-caused emer- gencies affecting Canadians every year, each family, household and workplace needs to be prepared for these sudden events. Some folks take preparedness a step further and volunteer to help in their communities when disasters strike—cue CERV Middle- sex, our County’s Community Emergency Response Volunteers. Middlesex County started the CERV program in 2007, recogniz- ing the need for trained emergency volunteers across a County with a large area and a growing population. The primary purpose of CERV is to assist municipal staff at Reception Centres, which are designated community facilities where evacuated citizens can find temporary lodging during serious emergencies. The CERV Middlesex team will work with municipal staff and volunteers from the County’s partner response agencies to care for evacuees and provide essential services to those affected by the emergency. Since its inception, the CERV Middlesex team has helped in a number of emergency situations and major community events, including: • Visit of Andy MacDonald and the Stanley Cup to Strathroy, August 2007 • Delivery of 1000 Boil Water notices in Mt. Brydges, March 2008 • Volunteer Leaders at 80 H1N1 influenza vaccination clinics in the County & London, Fall 2009 • Ilderton’s Homecoming for Olympians Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, June 2010 • Kraft Hockeyville in Lucan, Sept 2018 • Clinic Navigators at the Mt. Brydges COVID Vaccination Clinic, providing over 1900 hours of assistance to patients, February-April 2021 • Assistance at mobile COVID vaccination clinics across the County in 2021-2022, another 245 hours of volunteer service Currently, CERV Middlesex has about 40 active volunteers, in- cluding several ten-year veterans and one member who has been with the team for all 18 years! Kelly Warren of Strathroy joined in 2007 because she liked the idea of being part of a local group trained to help in emergencies. Kelly was CERVing the day the Stanley Cup came to town, but she says her favourite deployment was at the COVID vaccination clinics. “We were so isolated, it was nice to see other people and socialize a bit, even with a mask on. I felt really useful, especially at the Drive Thru clinics. There is lots to learn for CERV, but the training and education part is excellent; I enjoy working with the other volunteers, too,” says Kelly. If you would like to help and learn more about emergency pre- paredness, CERV Middlesex is recruiting now. You must be a resident of Middlesex County, 21 years of age and make an initial three-year commitment. Full information is available at www.middlesex.ca; please complete an application and send it in before the deadline of October 17, 2025. When Middlesex County recruits new CERV volunteers, special expertise is not the first priority, just a willingness to learn new skills and meet the challenge when members of our community need help. CERV Middlesex Volunteers really do MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
CERV Middlesex volunteers Kelly Warren (behind) and Karyn Grealis (front) sign in a Salvation Army volunteer at Adelaide Metcalfe’s emer - gency exercise in October 2024
Bettina Weber, CEMC, Middlesex County bweber@middlesex.ca – 519-319-4906
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Hometown Strathroy-Caradoc October 2025
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