Welcome to your final module, titled Suggested Changes, where we will cover suggestions for providers and disaster professionals to increase their accessibility and inclusivity within the disaster cycle and preparedness plans. Here are a few examples from the past. We know that planning for individuals with disabilities is more than just logistics and planning. It's involving the entire community in every step of the disaster cycle. We also know that it's not only accessibility, but inclusivity. Don't stop at thinking about, is this accessible, but start thinking about, have we involved an individual with a disability and our disability community in every step of the way? But when you are thinking about accessibility, it's important to think outside of physical accessibility. Don't stop at, is there an automatic door for this building, or are ramps available when there are stairs present? Think about programmatic accessibility, such as, are all of your materials in plain language and translated into other languages, or do you have an ASL interpreter or American Sign Language interpreter prepared for any public briefings that may be given over the TV? When we're planning to be inclusive, it's important to remember that things need to be person-based and not label-based. For example, we heard about an emergency management department, that its entire plan for the blind community was to provide everything in Braille. And while this can be a very important resource to certain individuals, not all blind individuals are able to read Braille, leaving some individuals without the accommodations that they may need. If you're trying to figure out where to start, we would always suggest to consult local disability experts or organizations, because while we can give generalized suggestions, your local community is always going to know what's best. After all, disasters always start and end on a local level. These individuals are going to have the most connection to self-advocates, the most connection to your department, and know best where your gaps in services may exist. It's also important to include the whole support team. Don't only just talk with individuals with disabilities, though they are the most important first step to understanding their lived experience, but include siblings or caregivers or family members who are with them on a daily basis. So what may be needed for individuals with disabilities in the disaster cycle? First off is accessible sheltering. It's important to remember a few things when you're looking at shelter plans. Not only should you have things for wheelchair accessibility or other mobility aid, but you also need to think about housing service animals, and are there areas for individuals with service animals to help relieve those animals? Also think about medical equipment. Some individuals with disabilities may come with their own backup power or their own backup equipment, but individuals who are evacuating on a short period of time may have to leave behind some medical equipment. One example is communication devices. Individuals with disabilities sometimes may use a communication device, and often these are electronic. However, as we know, disasters can be unpredictable, and some individuals may lose or damage their devices within a disaster. One thing that you may do in order to accommodate this is to create a paper version of a communication device that is present at all of your disaster shelters or large disaster preparedness events, so that way individuals who may have lost their communication devices are able to still communicate in a way that's familiar to them. Similarly, individuals with disabilities or individuals in general may need assistance with medication replacement, as their typical pharmacy and doctor may also be displaced from the disaster. When planning, especially in places like mass shelters where there's a lot of people, it's important to try and plan for sensory considerations, as some individuals with disabilities have sensory conditions that make loud, overcrowded areas impossible to stay in. Try adding a sensory-free room or area where people who are having sensory problems can go, calm down, and get away from the noise for a little bit. It's also important to think about medical personnel support. Individuals with disabilities sometimes have a professional paid medical person or paid caregiver who may need to stop services during a disaster response as they must evacuate themselves and their families. It's important to think about individuals who may need this medical personnel support and have a plan in place on how to get these individuals the help that they need. And finally, it's really important to think about accessible transportation. Especially when you're planning a mass evacuation, make sure that your public transportation that you are going to rely on is accessible for individuals with disabilities and individuals who use mobility aids. This is only a start to what you can do to increase your accessibility and inclusivity within the disaster cycle, but we hope it is a good helping hand to get you started on the right foot. Thank you so much.

disaster preparedness

accessibility

inclusivity

disability community

accessible transportation