Disabilities Awareness Month and Preparing for an Emergency

3/11/2020 (Permalink)

March is Disability Awareness Month in Indiana. There are 54 million Americans with disabilities. Adults and children with disabilities represent nearly one-fifth of Indiana’s population. The goal of Disability Awareness Month is to promote independence, integration, and inclusion of people with disabilities. March is also National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, and the owners of SERVPRO of Benton, Jasper, Newton & Southern Lake Counties has a special connection to disability and Cerebral Palsy with their youngest son.

For the millions of Americans who have physical, fine motor, sensory, medical, and/or cognitive disabilities, emergencies such as fires, floods, and other disasters provide additional challenges. Here are some tips to help you prepare emergency and contingency plans to protect loved ones with additional challenges and those that support them in the event of an emergency.

FEMA and the Red Cross have created a booklet for Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and Other Special Needs - https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1445-20490-6732/fema_476.pdf

Since emergencies happen at any time and any place and can happen quickly, without warning, being prepared is your best line of defense. Get informed. Make a plan.  Communicate your plan to others. Have a plan for evacuation – the how to as well as the necessary supplies that will be needed such as medicines, oxygen, and durable medical equipment. Keep a record of all medical contacts and suppliers as well as the specifics of any specialty items or equipment. See if your community has as assistance program with which you can register. Maintain your plan regularly – it is essential to update your plan with any medical changes as they occur.

Being prepared is essential in any emergency but caring for someone with unique needs or disabilities requires extra thought and preparation. Hopefully you will never need to put your plan in to place, but the peace-of-mind of having one is comforting.