If There Was a Disaster Today, Are You Prepared?
Donicé R. Kaufman, Bridges’s Director of the Living Well Program, is this week’s guest blogger.
Last year I found a website on preparing for disasters. I wondered to myself, “Are we prepared? Does Nashville know what to do?” And, “What about people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind? Will they get the information they need to survive a disaster?”
Ironically, Nashville experienced its own disaster with a flood in May 2010. Several of my Deaf clients suffered damage to their homes and vehicles. Add to that the frustration experienced when insurance companies, contract workers, and yes, even FEMA balked at paying for interpreters.
It was obvious the hearing public needs to be educated about ADA, interpreters, and Deaf culture; those with hearing loss need to be educated about the process of acquiring government aid and their rights to fair and equal language access.
What is exciting for Bridges and those with various levels of hearing loss is that an 8-hour workshop on August 10th will bring together twenty Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind community leaders with 20 hearing First Responders such as firefighters, law enforcement officers, the Red Cross, and EMTs. Both groups will focus on specific communication needs for those who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deaf-Blind. It will be taught through Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN).
For communication to be improved between our Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and First Responders during an emergency, it is incumbent upon us to work and plan together NOW. We must begin to work together to educate Nashville about the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness. Are you prepared?
~Donicé