(Montreal) Back on the roads after a year’s break due to confinement, Operation Red Nose has already escorted 2,328 Quebecers home over two weekends.
“It’s a year that is quite atypical, we will not hide it,” said the director of communications of the organization, Marilyn Vigneault, in a telephone interview.
Only around 20 regions were covered by the service in the last two weeks, compared to around 60 in 2019. This is why Mr.me Vigneault “really invites people to visit” operationnezrouge.com “to check out the dates and hours of operation in their region.” It is also possible to call or use the mobile application.
For now, it is in Quebec-Lévis and Sherbrooke where revelers have called on Nez rouge the most, with more than 300 rides. The Montreal region has seen about 150 rides, most of them in the last weekend.
“We fall in December and we can already see that the holiday spirit is a little more awakened among the population, underlined Mme Vigneault. The parties, it picks up quietly even if it is with certain measures. Some businesses get started, others don’t. ”
Health and security
Due to the pandemic, everyone must wear the medical mask indoors. Volunteers “must present a valid vaccination passport”.
In addition, “we disinfect surfaces and hands frequently, we validate the presence of symptoms in accompanied persons and volunteers, we keep a register and we also ask, when possible, to open the windows a little. the car to create ventilation, ”added Mr.me Vigneault.
She warned that volunteers have the right to refuse to serve someone who does not respect these measures.
Wanted drivers
Even if “this challenge of recruiting volunteers is a known issue every year”, Mr.me Vigneault said the COVID-19 pandemic “appears to have had an additional impact”.
She invites the population to register, as “it is not too late” to get their hands dirty. “We always ask for more, because the more volunteers we have, the more it allows us to respond to several calls, and this, within shorter deadlines. ”
“The people who contact us can volunteer for one evening, for several evenings. […] You will see, it is really a family, convivial experience, ”she explained, saying that, so far,“ things are going very well with the clients ”.