Glenrothes and Central Fife MP Peter Grant recently met with British Red Cross volunteers and staff at a special parliamentary event marking the organisation’s 150th year of supporting people in crisis at home and abroad.
Peter Grant spoke to Red Cross volunteers who routinely support people during an emergency. From getting people home from hospital, reuniting refugee families torn apart by conflict, supporting people who have been trafficked and exploited, equipping young people with the skills to save a life, to working with communities here and overseas when disaster strikes.
Afterwards the MP said: “Often we don’t appreciate just how much Red Cross volunteers do to provide early practical support to people whose lives have been affected by circumstances such as natural disasters, severe weather or major incidents. One volunteer I spoke to had clocked up an extraordinary 1,500 hours either on-call or on active duty in a single year and had been on the scene helping people who lost everything in the appalling fire at Grenfell Tower; others helped to comfort the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing. I want to thank all Red Cross volunteers for the incredible work they do.”
British Red Cross executive director for communications and advocacy Zoë Abrams called on MPs from all parties to work with the charity to help people in crisis.
She said: “For 150 years, the British Red Cross has been supporting communities in the UK and around the world in times of emergency. In 2020, the climate crisis means people who are already vulnerable are now more at risk from the impact of extreme weather such as flooding or heatwaves. And today there are more people in the world who have been forced to leave their homes because of hunger, conflict and persecution than the entire population of the UK.
“The Red Cross works across the UK and are inviting all parliamentarians, to come to see our work in their local areas. This could be combating loneliness, supporting vulnerable people in the health and social care system, helping refugees rebuild their lives or working with emergency services and local authorities to help people deal with and recover from crisis. Or it could be visiting their local Red Cross shop to meet and thank the volunteers who help to make our movement so powerful”.