1. Montana Emergency Shelters Workshop
Montana Disability and Health Program
Emergency Shelter Accessibility Workshop
May 5th – 6th, 2015
Missoula, MT

2. Emergency Shelter Inventory
Information we’ve collected so far…
Descriptive Information:
Shelter name
Physical Address, City, State, Zip Code
Point of Contact (POC), POC Phone
24 hour POC, POC Phone
Agency Type (i.e., ARC Managed, ARC Partnered, Independent, etc.), Agreement Date

3. Emergency Shelter Inventory
Facility Features:
Shower
Toilets
Refrigeration units
Self-sufficient Power
Generators
Capacity E
Capacity P
Handicap Accessible
Remarks/Notes

5. Emergency Shelter List: Available Information
Descriptive Information Data
Count
Missing Information? (Count missing)
Emergency Shelter
442
N/A
Full Physical Address No
Phone Number
379
Yes (63)
POC
373
Yes (69)
POC Phone Number
395
Yes (47)
24 POC
274
24 POC Phone Number
168
Yes (274)
Agency Type
Agreement Date 47
Yes (395)

6. Emergency Shelter List: Available Information
Facility Features Data
Count
Missing Information? (Count missing)
Showers
345
Yes (97)
Toilets 88
Yes (354)
Refrigeration Units
342
Yes (100)
Self-sufficient Power 65
Yes (377)
Generators 96
Yes (346)
Capacity E
442 No
Capacity P
Handicap Accessible
119
Yes (323)
Remarks/Notes 21
Yes (421)

7. Additional Information to Collect
Year building was built (Pre-ADA; Post-ADA)
Expand Accessible Section…
Parking
Entrance
Restroom
Bathroom (Shower)
Interior Route
Sleeping Area
Cafeteria/Eating Area
???

8. Montana Emergency Shelter Pilot Study (was it a Pilot Study-Holly’s work?)
Designated Emergency Shelter Facilities:
Civic Center, Public Library, Gym, Church, Convention Center.
On-site Assessment tool:
Department of Justice (DOJ) Americans with Disabilities Act: ADA Checklist for Emergency Shelters (2007); Accessible Shelter Quick-Check Survey
Used to determine accessibility of critical access features

9. Accessible Shelter Quick-Check Survey
Quick-Check Criteria
Accessible Entrance
Accessible Routes To All Service/Activity Areas
Accessibility Within Toilet Rooms
Facilities required to meet at least 8 of out the 10 assessment criteria to receive a full assessment.

10. Emergency Shelter Case Studies: Work-to-Date (Holly Horan)
Butte Civic Center
Accessible Shelter Quick-Check Survey:
8 out of the 10 questions YES or N/A
Accessibility Issues:
ADA Checklist Emergency Checklist
Section H: Restrooms and Showers: Checked “Yes” for 18 of the 29 items
Priority Area NE
Entrance Parking: Checked “Yes” for the 7 of the 12 items
Entrance Checked “Yes” for 5 of the 10 items

11. Emergency Shelter Case Studies: Work-to-Date (Holly Horan)
Helena Salvation Army (Church)
Accessible Shelter Quick-Check Survey:
• Checked “Yes” for 7 out of the 8 questions
Checked “Yes” for 5 out of the 8 questions were marked as “Yes”
ADA Checklist Emergency Checklist
Section A. Passenger Drop-off Areas: Checked “Yes” for only 1 of the 8 criteria items
Section D. Entering the Emergency Shelter: Checked “Yes” or “N/A” for 3 of the 6 criteria items
Section E. Hallways and Corridors : Checked “Yes” for 4 of the 37 criteria items

12. Critical Accessibility Affordances
When built-environment features are inaccessible, reasonable accommodations cannot address the challenges of providing shelter satisfactorily.
Extended applications of the term affordances is used here to describe the accessibility characteristics of environmental features for the summary measure — critical accessibility affordances (CAA).
We propose to apply the concept of CAA in emergency shelter assessment criteria.

13. Proposed Rapid Review Criteria
Pathway is continuous, unobstructed, and includes curb ramps at least 36” wide when changes-in-level occur along route.
Door requires no more than 15lbs of force to open when hinged, no more than 5lbs of force to open when sliding or folding. Automatic or power-operated door are exempt.
From the accessible entrance, the route to the sleeping area is continuous, unobstructed, and includes changes-in-level no greater than ½”.
Restroom has the following minimum turning space; 1) for a circular space, minimum turning space is 60” in diameter; 2) for a t-shaped space, minimum turning space of 60” square with arms and base 36” wide; if toilet is inside a water closet, minimum of 60” measured perpendicular from the side wall and 56” measured perpendicular from the rear wall.
Toilet seat measures between 17” to 19” above the floor. Grab bars are installed in a horizontal position between 18” and 27” above the floor, and the space between grab bars and the adjacent wall is 1 ½” minimum.
(Source: US Department of Justice ADA standards for accessible design. 2010)

14. Assessment Approaches
Rapid Review Approaches
On-site
Phone Survey
Google Street View
Sample Survey Tool: ADA Accessible Shelter Quick-Check Survey

15. Thank you!
[1] Pathway is continuous, unobstructed, and includes curb ramps at least 36” wide when changes-in-level occur along route.
[2] Door requires no more than 15lbs of force to open when hinged, no more than 5lbs of force to open when sliding or folding. Automatic or power-operated door are exempt.
[3] From the accessible entrance, the route to the sleeping area is continuous, unobstructed, and includes changes-in-level no greater than ½”.
[4] Restroom has the following minimum turning space; 1) for a circular space, minimum turning space is 60” in diameter; 2) for a t-shaped space, minimum turning space of 60” square with arms and base 36” wide; if toilet is inside a water closet, minimum of 60” measured perpendicular from the side wall and 56” measured perpendicular from the rear wall.
[5] Toilet seat measures between 17” to 19” above the floor. Grab bars are installed in a horizontal position between 18” and 27” above the floor, and the space between grab bars and the adjacent wall is 1 ½” minimum.