In a situation like Friday’s house fire, the Cochrane Ministerial Association is standing by to offer the people affected whatever help it can.
Pastor Bob Cox of Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church says it starts with determining the exact needs.
“We have a fund for times when straightforward cash is needed,” Cox tells My Cochrane Now Dot Com. “We have deals with some of the community hotels and stuff, that are good price for that and we provide that for what we can.”
The ministerial association can also help through the Cochrane Food Bank… and with Giant Tiger and Valu-Mart cards… as well using its connections to used furniture and clothing.
“You can’t go out and buy a new house of furniture,” Cox notes, ”but people might have a nearly new bed or a nearly new couch that they’re willing to donate. So we can help people to get back on their feet without breaking the bank.
“Oftentimes,” he continues, “ people have a whole cupboard full of clothes that they no longer need because of size changes or move young people or whatever, so we often have access to those.
“In a sense, the community’s a family and we feel like we are kind of like parents in the community. We want to show people, help people and show them they’re loved.”
The ministers can also counsel people to help them move beyond the tragedy provided by a house fire.