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Emergency Recovery Part I: Assisting Individuals after a Disaster

About the Webcast

Rebuilding your own life after a natural disaster or other emergency can be difficult enough. Reconnecting with your consumers and rebuilding your Center, whether literally or figuratively, can take months or years. Prepare yourself and your Center to respond in the wake of disasters by joining us for this two-part teleconference and webcast on two important aspects of emergency recovery: how to access, navigate, and advocate for people with disabilities in emergency shelters and with the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). A FEMA representative will participate in Part 2 of this teleconference and webcast to present FEMA’s role in assisting people with disabilities after emergencies and to answer your questions.

Target Audience

The primary target audience is direct service staff of Centers for Independent Living. Those who supervise direct service staff in centers and Center directors will also benefit from this course. Staff and members of Statewide Independent Living Councils may also find this course helpful in understanding the issues of emergency preparedness; they are not a primary audience since they do not have direct service delivery roles.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this two-part presentation, participants will be able to:

• Educate consumers about the importance of creating personal emergency preparedness and recovery plans.
• Educate consumers about a personal notebook that they can prepare in advance of an emergency so they can easily take critical personal information with them that they will need in recovering from the emergency.
• Describe to consumers what they can expect if they must evacuate to a shelter during an emergency.
• Educate consumers about strategies they can use to survive in a shelter and return to the community as rapidly as possible.
• Prepare to assist consumers with transitioning from shelters to the broader community by establishing positive relationships with shelter operators and disaster organizations before emergencies occur.
• Explain to consumers what they can expect when requesting assistance from organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Preliminary Agenda

Part 1: Shelters

3:00 PM EDT – Welcome & Introductions
3:05 PM EDT – Purpose and Importance of Disaster Planning
3:10 PM EDT – Assembling a Personalized Emergency Notebook
3:30 PM EDT – Q&A Session
3:40 PM EDT – Shelter Survival 101
3:55 PM EDT – Stages of Disaster Recovery
4:00 PM EDT – Q&A Session
4:10 PM EDT – Advocacy for Escaping!
4:20 PM EDT – Final Q&A and Wrap-up
4:30 PM EDT – Presentation Ends

Part 2: FEMA

3:00 PM EDT – Welcome & Introductions
3:05 PM EDT – Review of Part I
3:10 PM EDT – The FEMA Application and What to Do If Things Bog Down
3:30 PM EDT – Q&A Session
3:40 PM EDT – Types of Assistance Available from FEMA
3:55 PM EDT – Q&A Session
4:05 PM EDT – Next Steps & Additional Resources
4:20 PM EDT – Final Q&A and Wrap-up
4:30 PM EDT – Presentation Ends

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