The Peterborough office of the Canadian Red Cross at 565 Water Street is closing effective Sunday, April 30th — a move prompted by the agency’s desire to respond to changing times.
“It’s not a cost-savings measure,” says Helena McKeag, Red Cross’s director of regional services for Eastern Ontario. “It’s because we’re delivering our services differently.
“The current services that we have in the Peterborough area — First Aid and CPR training, offered through our training partners as of March 31 — will continue to be there. Disaster Management with the emergency 24/7 line and the Disaster Management team will still be there with the same contact people. Those will be remaining, just offered in a different manner.”
McKeag explains the changing nature of how the Canadian Red Cross delivers services means a physical location in Peterborough is no longer necessary.
“We don’t need the physical presence of the building to offer those. You don’t need bricks and mortar to do the work. Our delivery model, the way we deliver our services, has changed over the years. Disaster Management is now mobile. It will still be there but they don’t need to work out of the Peterborough office to deliver services.”
McKeag adds all Red Cross services will remain accessible to the public with the current phone number of 705-745-8222 remaining active. As well, local services can be accessed at www.redcross.ca.
“While we will no longer will have a physical branch (in Peterborough), we will continue to provide services to the community based on need, as we do now in other locations where branches do not exist,” says McKeag.
The Canadian Red Cross closed its Renfrew County and District Branch office last year, as well as its branch in Quinte. This year, it’s also closing a branch in Keewatin near Kenora in northern Ontario effective June 30th, and there are reports of other offices in southern Ontario closing as well this year.
“The way the public has been interacting with us over the years has changed dramatically, along with the way we deliver some of our programs and services,” McKeag explains. “We’re looking at transforming the way we do our business, the way we deliver our services. If you have a mobile unit that’s going to be more responsive to disaster management and emergencies, why would you time them to a building? We’re just responding to the times and changing with the times.”
Along with First Aid/CPR training and Disaster Management services, other programs offered by the Peterborough branch have included: swimming instruction and lifeguard certification; manual wheelchair recycling; health equipment loans; “First Contact” for refugees facing challenges in adjusting to their new home; violence, bullying and abuse prevention programs; and “Winter Warmth”, which provides knitted items for those without access to winter wear.
What has been the home of the Canadian Red Cross, the building at 565 Water Street, was designated a heritage structure in 1982 by the City of Peterborough.
Built in 1889 at the northwest corner of Water and London streets, it is known as Harstone House — a tribute to Phoebe and Robert Harstone who acquired the property in 1907 and later left it to their son Colonel John A. Harstone, who lived there until his death in 1981 after which the Canadian Red Cross acquired the property.
Built in Queen Anne-style, the brick dwelling was originally designed by architect William Blackwell for John B. McWilliams, a businessman and politician. It was also the family home of his son Roland, who became mayor of Peterborough in 1906 and, in 1940, lieutenant governor of Manitoba.
