North Carolina Emergency Management Emergency Preparedness Initiative for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Programmatic Update- Year Two NCEMA 2015 Spring Conference March 22-25, 2015 Cherokee, NC

North Carolina Emergency Management The Big Picture: Individuals with disabilities must take steps to be prepared for emergencies… “Preparedness officials need to ensure that they are including people with disabilities in the planning, training, exercises, and response activities carried out at the community level.” NC Plan to Promote the Health of People with Disabilities,

Overview  Purpose and General Details of Grant  C-MIST Committees  Year Two Activities and Highlights “Show Me” Communication Tool/App Meals on Wheels Pilot Program CERT Pilot Program Transportation Survey Shelter Exercises including individuals with I/DD and access/functional needs ReadyNC updates

Purpose and General Details of Grant Purpose - to improve emergency preparedness for persons with I/DD Multi-year Grant4 years Grant PeriodOCT 2013 – SEP 2017 Amount$125,000 each year

Blueprint  Road map  Cross-functional  Personal preparedness  Local preparedness related to local infrastructure  Emergency planning at state level

Implementation via C-MIST Implementation via C-MIST Technical Plan  Inclusive  Integrated with the whole community approach  Address the access and functional needs of diverse populations

C-MIST Committees  Communication  Maintaining Health  Independence  Safety and Support  Transportation

Show Me: A Communication Tool for Emergency Shelters  Created by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health  300 copies of “Show Me” booklet have been printed and will be distributed to County Emergency Managers, DSS and The Red Cross.  Now available as a mobile application: “Show Me for Emergencies”  This FREE tool should be downloaded by anyone who works with the public. Available in both iTunes and Google Play stores.

Meals on Wheels Pilot Program  Distribution of emergency preparedness materials to homebound individuals with access/functional needs.  Materials to be distributed (3) times per year: 1. ReadyNC rack cards 5220 distributed in February/March 2. “Staying Independent During a Disaster” (June delivery) 3. “What to take to a shelter during an evacuation” (August delivery).  Five organizations participating: Asheville-Buncombe Meals on Wheels Carteret County DSS Char-Meck DSS Friendship Trays of Charlotte Wake County Meals on Wheels

CERT Pilot Program  Targeted marketing to attract persons with functional, intellectual or developmental disabilities to the CERT programs in North Carolina  Three pilot teams participating:  Wake (Cary)  Forsyth County  Rowan County  CERT State Conference - June 13, 2015 Featured guest: Scott Ellis, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Progressive Center for Independent Living, Mercer County NJ Training to include: Interacting with people with disabilities Integrating individuals with I/DD into CERT team

Transportation Survey Highlights  92% of vehicles surveyed can accommodate medical equipment  96% of vehicles surveyed can accommodate service animals  24,000+ drivers across the state  Of those drivers, 86% are licensed at CDL Class B or higher  98% of survey respondents expressed interest in working with other providers for mutual aid assistance Concerns  < 20% of drivers are trained to secure wheelchairs  71% of the wheelchair slots available across the state are on buses. Buses typically accommodate 1-2 wheelchairs, meaning transportation of large numbers of wheelchair users at one time would be difficult with the available vehicles. Year 3 Goals  Train the remaining 80% to secure wheelchairs  Identify alternate resources to transport wheelchair users

Shelter Simulations and Exercises  It’s no longer acceptable to use t-shirts or signs to “simulate” having an individual with disabilities in a shelter exercise  We expect the use of actual persons with disabilities in emergency planning and exercises  Examples of some of the individuals recommended for shelter exercises: those who are blind; wheelchair users; deaf/hard of hearing; those with dietary restrictions; pregnant women; individuals with autism; people who live in institutionalized settings; the elderly; children; people from diverse cultures; limited English proficiency or non-English speaking; those who are transportation disadvantaged.  Work with advocates for the disabled and non-profits to help coordinate local individuals for exercises  Beginning in mid 2015 DSS and Red Cross should be standing up these types of integrated shelter exercises.

North Carolina Emergency Management Welcome Zach Smith Guilford County FNSS Functional Exercise

Identifying the Need  National focus on FNSS  Lawsuits and case studies  Created FNSS Sub-Committee  Human services partners  Disability advocacy groups  Senior Resources  Community members w/ disabilities  Many others  Community & capabilities assessment

Exercise Planning & Design  Whole-community initiative  Inclusion of individuals with and without disabilities/functional needs  Tested entire sheltering process & existing resources  Check in  Lodging  Meal service  Activities of daily living (using restroom, showering, etc.)  Utilized the most commonly used shelter location  Accessibility

Exercise Findings  Hotwash was GREAT!  Shelter ADA compliance/accommodations  Public education is needed  Communications and signage was a challenge  Need specific durable goods/equipment  Need more training  Continue community and capabilities assessment

Contact Information Abby Cameron Program Manager, Human Services Emergency Preparedness Initiative Grant Manager Phone: (919) Greta Herring Emergency Preparedness Initiative Grant Coordinator Phone: (919) Zach Smith, CEM Emergency Management Coordinator Guilford County Emergency Management Phone: (336)

North Carolina Emergency Management Questions?