A year later Lamèque is still dealing with isolation revealed by the ice storm

One year ago, a fierce ice storm ravaged the province, plunging hundreds of thousands of people into darkness.

The Acadian Peninsula was the hardest hit, with residents of the most remote areas living without power for more than two weeks.

For many, the date — much like the prospect of another storm — prompts a certain sense of panic.

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But around Lamèque, the storm also resulted in a community that's closer than it's been in a long time.

Volunteers spent days going door to door checking on people, a simple but eye-opening experience for some, who said they were surprised to learn just how many people in need were in the community.

"We found people that from the outside seemed OK, but when we walked in we saw they needed more help," said Jackie Plourde, pastoral assistant at the Notre-Dame-des-Flots church in Lamèque.

"We found people who were insecure, people who were frightened, people who were isolated."

One of those people was Juliette Paulin. The 69-year-old lives alone, without any savings and gets by each month on government old-age pension, just enough to cover basic necessities.

The ice storm was a blessing in disguise, because it ended her isolation.

"I was able to discover I wasn't alone," Paulin said. "That there were people around me who were sensitive to my situation."

In a place where much of the work is seasonal and people rely on unemployment insurance in the winter, problems related to low earnings aren't exactly new.

In 1998, a federal government report found Lamèque Island had the lowest median income in Canada.

But people are proud here.

Paulin admits that before the ice storm, people like her were reluctant to ask for help.

"I didn't want to pass off for someone who whines," she said.

After seeing first-hand the need that existed in the community, the church in Lamèque had one mission in the months after the storm: to do something about it.

Helped by some of the $6 million raised through a wildly successful Chase the Ace contest, the Notre-Dame-des-Flots parish renovated its basement to include a community kitchen, shower and laundry facilities for people to use.

It also purchased a big generator to be used the event of another storm.

Construction is expected to finish by March, at which point the church will also deliver free meals to some in the community.

Fifty-two people have signed up for the service so far.

The church also now offers free counselling, something Paulin, who regularly meets with Plourde and others there, said has made a world of difference when she starts feeling lonely or overwhelmed about money.

"I wasn't expecting so much compassion between us," she said, reflecting on the aftermath of the ice storm.

"We couldn't imagine how much poverty there was … in Lamèque and in the peninsula."

Plourde said the phone at the office is ringing off the hook these days, with everything from people who have run out of food for the month to those who need help finding a place to stay.

She said she has a list of about 70 families in need to offer help to, or to check on, if another storm paralyzes the island, although she hopes that doesn't happen any time soon.