Emergency preparedness is critical for everyone in the community – including people who have disabilities.
National Technical Assistance and Training Center on Disability Inclusion in Emergency Preparedness
The goal of this National Technical Assistance and Training Center is to support the disability community to develop local government relationships, build awareness and trust, and gain a seat at the local emergency planning table, fostering emergency planning for all.
Prepared4ALL aims to build capacity for collaboration among people with disabilities, disability organizations and their networks, and local emergency management and public health departments to build trust, create sustainable relationships, and for people with disabilities to get a seat at the local emergency planning table. Prepared4ALL offers a menu of products including an accessible online evidence-based course with eight modules, nine evidence informed collaboration, outreach, and engagement strategies, communication tools and templates, and an evidence-based inclusive local emergency planning workbook. There is also information for students who want to engage in an individual research project. The long term goal of this initiative is to increase the number of individuals with disabilities and disability organizations that are actively engaged in local emergency planning efforts by harnessing the unique strengths of this population and these organizations. To learn more, please visit our webpage or email PublicHealth@aucd.org
Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Access and Confidence Among People with Disabilities
This project aims to engage the AUCD national network and partners to facilitate COVID-19 vaccine conversations among members, identify barriers to vaccine accessibility, increase vaccine confidence, share credible COVID-19 vaccination information, respond to misinformation, translate information into accessible formats, and share success stories and lessons learned. Key influencers of people with disabilities will be engaged throughout this effort: families, direct support professionals, and other people with disabilities. Learn more by visiting our webpage.
Disabilities & Disasters: A Path to More Inclusive Climate Solutions
Dr. Adriane K. Griffen, former Senior Director of Public Health and Leadership, Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) joined ecoAmerica’s Let’s Talk Climate webcast, Disabilities & Disasters: A Path to More Inclusive Climate Solutions for a conversation with Krystal Vasquez, PhD Candidate, California Institute of Technology and Freelance Science Writer to discuss disability rights as an important tenet of environmental justice, climate solutions, and disaster planning. Check out “A disability should not be a death sentence during a natural disaster” written by Krystal Vasquez, where she discusses her experience studying air pollution from wildfires and her experience as a disabled researcher.
Inclusive Emergency Management Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
Inclusive Emergency Management Preparedness, Response, and Recovery: This white paper provides key learnings from recent disasters impacting specific Territories and policy recommendations for University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDDs), as well as government leaders at the Federal, State and Territorial levels. Check out our “Getting it Right Inclusive Emergency Management Conference” presentation and other resources.
Emergency Preparedness Special Interest Group
Emergency Preparedness Special Interest Group: Discussion group for AUCD Network members on critical issues related to including people with disabilities in emergency preparedness efforts. Subscribe to the listserv to stay up-to-date!
Public Health is for Everyone
The Public Health is for Everyone toolkit is a one-stop collection of resources on health and disability. The online toolkit serves to increase the capacity of public health professionals to create programs that benefit entire communities, including people who have disabilities. The Public Health is for Everyone Toolkit provides resources to enhance planning efforts in key issue areas such as emergency preparedness, nutrition, obesity, health care access, accessibility, and more. Check out resources on emergency preparedness and more in!
Archived Projects:
Emergency Preparedness Community of Practice
In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AUCD’s National Center on Disability in Public Health established the Emergency Preparedness and Inclusion Community of Practice. This group was created to discuss public health efforts and cross-sector strategies to develop effective inclusive state public health emergency planning. This community of practice included participation from various subject matter experts within the AUCD network and state partners in CDC’s Disability and Health State Programs.
AUCD-Related Resources:
FEMA Regional Disability Integration Specialist
Regional Disability Integration Specialists work closely with the states to ensure that their disaster planning is inclusive of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. Reach out to your respective Regional Disability Integration Specialist during non-emergency times so your relationship is strong when you need it!