Heatwave Emergency

During last summer’s heatwave, Red Cross made 3 calls per day to existing Telecross clients, as opposed to the service’s regular daily phone call. The Department for Families and Communities asked Red Cross to expand its Telecross service to all vulnerable South Australians…

Planning begins

Vulnerable South Australians live in fear

A response team is established

Red Cross is given more than 6,000 extra people to call

These vital calls helped people stay connected to their community but more importantly, they provided a real source of critical practical advice and information to ensure people were coping in the heat.

Staff & volunteers are mobilised

Red Cross is in the media

Staff vacate desks for extra volunteers

Over 520 volunteers across South Australia, including regular Telecross callers and staff from the public service, made the calls to check on people’s welfare.

Callers discovered a range of urgent needs and difficult personal situations where Red Cross was able to help people directly or arrange for follow-up.

A carer with limited family and outside support needed immediate help because she was exhausted from the high temperatures. Red Cross arranged urgent support for the woman through a specialist respite agency.

A woman cared for both her mother with dementia and her 15 year-old child with a disability. She told the Telecross caller she needed extra respite care for her son. Red Cross got her in touch with Commonwealth Care Link and provided ongoing monitoring and support.

When a person in regional South Australia failed to answer their Telecross call, Red Cross immediately contacted her daughter. The daughter visited her mother and discovered she had collapsed. The mother was admitted to hospital.

“People were so thankful when they received the calls” Samantha, volunteer

“I wish to thank Red Cross and the kind person who phoned me last week to inquire if my husband and I were coping in the terrible heat”

In total, 521 additional volunteers gave over 3,000 hours of their time and made more than 15,000 phone calls.

The success of the Telecross expansion during last summer’s heatwave has resulted in Telecross REDi – a service that aims to keep vulnerable people alive and safe during extreme weather events.

The Department for Families and Communities has committed $100,000 to Red Cross for the production of emergency preparedness packs for seniors and people who are vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves.

Red Cross will be prepared to call up to 15,000 registered Telecross REDi clients, up to three times a day, to check on their wellbeing for the duration of an extreme weather event.

Over 400 volunteers are needed for the service to operate.

Telecross REDi Support for South Australians who are vulnerable to extreme weather events.