Daily life for people with disabilities is a masterclass in negotiating functional and access needs. But how do we keep functioning when external events throw off our delicate life balance? Life doesn’t stop happening because of bad weather, but our community is consistently put in vulnerable situations before, during, and after climate events. According to “Intersecting Vulnerabilities: Disability and Climate Disaster in Rural America,” a report by the Urban Institute, “During climate emergencies, people with disabilities can face acute health challenges, inability to evacuate, and chronic and co-occurring conditions that increase morbidity and mortality risk.”
But the hurdles don’t end when the climate event does. The report further illustrates that our community is more likely to face permanent displacement, institutionalization, and longer recovery times than nondisabled people.
An emergency plan for our non-disabled peers may constitute stocking up on bread and milk, but planning for a potential crisis can be much more involved for disabled people. The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies’ Board President Millie Gonzalez shares, “We need to consider our access and functional needs on our worst days, and build disaster plans based on individual support needs.”
Kelly Boyd, Access and Functional Needs Planner at the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management, notes that you can voluntarily add your name to a free, confidential disaster registry to ensure support in case of an emergency. In New York, such registries are available by county. In New Jersey, residents who have disabilities or access and functional needs can sign up for a program called Register Ready. “The data provided is used by emergency managers in each County to enhance plans for those with disabilities or access and functional needs. Emergency managers may also send warnings to vulnerable residents by way of reverse 911 alerts or conduct wellness checks after an event. Data may even be used to assist with emergency evacuations and shelter planning,” Boyd explains.
Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency developed the concept of establishing Core Advisory Groups (CAGs) to support inclusive emergency management solutions for everyone in the community. Boyd shares that one of the pivotal things that CAGs get right is bringing together people with a wide variety of access and functional needs. This gives a wider knowledge base to empower localities to better plan and prepare for emergencies by assessing and addressing service gaps, and determining what equipment, materials, and skilled personnel to have at the ready.
Gonzalez became involved with The Partnership after she lost her family home to Hurricane Sandy. She is a disability consultant, communication strategist, editor, and event planner—and a true example of turning surviving into thriving. But that required building up her resources and using them. “I remember watching dumpsters, cars, and arcade games floating away,” she recalled of the hurricane. The first floor of Gonzalez’s home flooded, and she and her family members were stranded on the second floor. They were without power and only occasionally had an internet signal on their phones that they used to reach their network on Facebook to get help. “In times when emergency support needs are high, Gonzalez says, “it’s critical to have mutual aid systems in place.”
As Colleen Roche, a disability advocate and educator, says, “Our community lives and thrives in our normality with access to our medicines, durable medical goods and in-home support.” Gonzalez and Roche both share key factors for disabled people to consider when preparing for an emergency, whether you’re evacuating or hunkering down at home. Ideally, you should have durable medical equipment available and a way to keep them charged. Have a plan for support to do your personal care, including bathing, dressing, toileting, wound care, medication administration, and eating. It’s a good idea to have a few people you are comfortable with who are within close range so you can call for help with tasks as needed, from filling a generator with gas to flipping you over in bed. These things may feel mundane, or perhaps overly personal, but they can make the difference when it comes to survival.
There have been over 90 confirmed weather/climate disaster events between 1980 and 2024 in the New York Metro Area—droughts, floods, freezes, severe storms, tropical cyclones, and winter storms. Our best chance to survive and thrive is to prepare ourselves.