1. Leading the Way Programs, Ideas and Communities to Consider
Presented by Brian Lake and Neil McDevitt
Midwest Partners in Preparedness Conference
September 30, 2010

2. Best Practices vs. Good Ideas
What is a Best Practice?
Who defines what a best practice looks like?
Disasters are local, best practices are as well
The challenges, resources and needs in Fort Myers, Florida are very different than in Waterloo, Iowa
Let’s talk about some Good Ideas
You decide if something might work in your community

3. Mississippi Interfaith Disaster Recovery Task Force
Located in Biloxi, MS
Founded in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina
Original mission was to provide spiritual and emotional care to citizens of Gulf Coast following Katrina
Has transitioned from an organization that views mitigation as part of the recovery process to mitigation as part of the preparedness process

4. Mississippi Interfaith Disaster Recovery Task Force
Responsible for bringing together a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the MS Gulf Coast
Is the point organization between FB groups and local emergency managers and first responders
Sits in EOC during disasters
Disaster Coordinators in every congregation
Dr. Alice Graham, Executive Director

5. Blackhawk County, Iowa – 911 Texting
First 911 call center in the country to allow texting
Realized that many Deaf consumers no longer used or had TTY which was the only way to communicate with 911 center
Perfect Storm of Advancements in Accessibility
New IP-based 911 system
Dedicated champions of providing accessibility for all
Partnerships with technology providers, cell carries and public sector
Analog systems which almost all 911 centers use can not accept IP-based information
Challenge was to ensure that the text message was routed to the appropriate PSAP based on caller’s location and that the message was received by the PSAP in “real” time
Worked with local technology partners and the local cell phone providers to develop the technology, collaboration CRITICAL

6. Blackhawk County, Iowa – 911 Texting
Huge implications for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing community as well as victims of domestic violence
Sarasota, Florida is evaluating the capability as they have moved to IP-based system as well
Judy Flores, Blackhawk County PSAP Director
Tom Jennings, Chair, Blackhawk County 911 Commission
Today, when a Black Hawk resident texts 9-1-1, the caller is promoted to provide their location, which is then linked to the nearest PSAP. The call taker and person needing assistance are then able to engage in a conversation to ascertain the nature of the emergency for help to be dispatched.

8. Metro Boston Transit Authority - MBTA
Found significant amount of human resources needed to evacuate passengers with disabilities
Evaluated plan and equipment and designed a system that enables all passengers to be evacuated
Purchased 512 Evacuation Chairs, 12 Mechanical Evacuation Carts w/ trailers that were specifically designed for MBTA environment – Trained w/ PWD
1 per two cars, 1 per station, 30 facility based, 40 to first responders

9. Metro Boston Transit Authority - MBTA
Gary Talbot, Assistant General Manager, MBTA

10. Accessible Education: A Mindset and a Goal
Just like it is important to include members of the functional needs community in the emergency planning process; it is essential to make sure that education and training for the emergency planning process is accessible to include people with functional needs.
Text equivalents for images- for people who are blind or who have low vision
Captions for audio (video, etc.)- for people who are deaf and hard of hearing
Keyboard vs. mouse functionality- for people with motor skill needs and vision needs

11. Example of Meeting the Needs
User driven video interface (current prototype in development)
Captions can also be used for second languages (subtitles in Spanish)
Second video could be a images, slide show (PPT) or animation (Flash)

12. DeafLink
The state of Texas uses DeafLink to provide emergency alerts for Deaf/HH, Spanish speaking consumers
Individuals to receive emergency information from the city, county or state through , pagers (with text capability), cell phones with text or video capability, and PDAs (with capability)
ASL, English Voice & Text, Spanish Voice & Text
Kay Chiodo, President, DeafLink