Special Needs/Vulnerable Populations
Preparing for, responding to, and recovering from an emergency or disaster is difficult for everyone. For people who face extra challenges and barriers to daily living, an emergency, act of terrorism, or disaster can quickly become overwhelming. Every community is made up of diverse groups of residents whose needs can increase tremendously during large-scale emergency or disaster events.
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Who is particularly vulnerable during a natural or manmade disaster?
- Senior and elderly citizens
- The medically fragile or disabled
- Persons with limited English proficiency
- The homeless and indigent
- People who need assistance with daily activities, but are living alone
- Those without a reliable means of transportation
- Persons living with chronic mental, physical, or developmental disabilities
- Those suffering with Alzheimer's disease or dementia
DEFINING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
In disaster preparedness and response, the terms "vulnerable" or "special needs" populations are used to characterize groups whose needs are not fully addressed by traditional service providers. For our purposes, "vulnerable populations" are people who feel they cannot comfortably or safely access and use the standard resources offered in disaster preparedness, relief and recovery. They include, but are not limited to persons who are: Physically or mentally disabled; blind, deaf, or hard of hearing; living with cognitive disorders or mobility limitations; limited or non-English speakers; geographically/culturally isolated; or medically/chemically dependent.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS A VULNERABLE PERSON TO PREPARE?
If you consider yourself to be vulnerable, start by discussing what your specific needs would be in the case of an emergency or disaster with your family, friends, personal care attendant, or anyone else in your support network and prepare an emergency plan.
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN GET STARTED (Click Here)
Post the plan where everyone will see it, keep a copy with you, and make sure everyone involved in your plan has a copy. Take into account what you would do if: Basic services such as water, gas, electricity, and telephones were cut; a disaster confined you to your home; or if a disaster forced you to evacuate your neighborhood. YOU ARE IN THE BEST POSITION TO PLAN FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS EFFORTS
Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone right away. During a disaster, businesses, community groups, and civic organizations working with vulnerable populations can help us reach those sectors of the public by participating in our vulnerable populations efforts.
Examples of groups that can help us contact vulnerable peoples during an emergency include, but are not limited to:
- Groups that work closely with cultural and religious organizations
- Assisted living centers and retirement communities
- Home care providers
- Churches
- Bilingual/multilingual aid agencies
- Organizations that serve the elderly and homebound population
When an emergency happens, we will attempt to contact you with important health information, such as where to receive medical care or life-saving vaccines. We may ask you to disseminate that information to your key audiences through posters, telephone calls, e-mails, social media, translation services, home visits, or any other viable means of communication. The goal is to save the lives of as many people as possible, despite their individual circumstances.
If you or your organization would like to assist in our efforts and be a hero in your own community, please contact Beverly Lester at (678) 610-7246 or blester@dhr.state.ga.us
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Georgia's Emergency Preparedness:
"For Individuals with Disabilities and Elderly Persons" (brochure)
Disability Preparedness.gov (Personal Preparedness Planning):
www.disabilitypreparedness.gov/ppp/index.htm
Ready America: People with Disabilities and Other Access and Functional Needs:
ENGLISH - www.ready.gov/america/getakit/disabled.html
SPANISH - www.listo.gov/america/getakit/disabled.html
American Red Cross - Persons with Disabilities:
Listo.gov - Spanish Language Emergency Preparedness Site
Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness (204 pages):
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/areyouready_full.pdf
National Organization On Disability:
http://nod.org/disability_resources/emergency_preparedness_for_persons_with_disabilities/
Emergency Preparedness for Families of Children with Special Needs (14 pages):
http://www.chkd.org/documents/CareConnections/EmergencyPreparednessforFamilies.pdf
American Association of the Deaf-Blind - Building an Emergency Kit:
http://www.aadb.org/information/emergency_preparation/emerg_plan.html
Helping Children Cope with Violence and Disasters (20 pages):
http://www.aap.org/disasters/pdf/helping-children-and-adolescents.pdf
Healthy Roads Media - Emergency Preparedness resources in more than a dozen languages:
http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/topics/emergencies.htm
National Resource Center on Advancing Emergency Preparedness for Culturally Diverse Communities: