September is National Preparedness Month, an observance to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time.
DRLA works to ensure equitable disaster planning and response. We aim to eliminate barriers to critical programs, services, and housing for people with disabilities who have been adversely impacted by disasters.
We assist with:
• FEMA disputes
• Obtaining necessary medicines or assistive devices from Medicaid
• Accessing personal care workers through a Medicaid Waiver
• Regaining contact with Louisiana Rehabilitation Services
• Obtaining special education services during evacuation
• Obtaining a sign language interpreter
• Referrals to community resources
Our website includes a Resource Guide that includes helpful information and links that are geared towards people with disabilities of all ages. For the full Resource Guide, visit: https://disabilityrightsla.org/how-we-can-help/disaster-resilience/
These include helpful videos and links from FEMA’s Ready Campaign, which is a national public service campaign that helps prepare Americans for emergencies, and includes personal preparedness tips for people with disabilities in the event of a disaster.
The Ready Campaign’s 2023 National Preparedness Month theme is “Take Control in 1, 2, 3”. The campaign will focus on preparing older adults for disasters, specifically older adults from communities that are disproportionally impacted by the all-hazard events, which continue to threaten the nation.
We know older adults can face greater risks when it comes to the multitude of extreme weather events and emergencies we now face, especially if they are living alone, are low-income, have a disability, or live in rural areas.
Emergency managers and all those who work with and support older adult communities to access the new webpage available in English and Spanish languages at Ready.gov/older-adults and Ready.gov/es/adultos-mayores. For more information on preparing with disabilities visit Ready.gov/disability or Ready.gov/es/discapacidad in Spanish.
Our resource guide also contains a link to a fillable Disaster Readiness Form that you can use to help gather helpful contacts and other information to help make sure you are prepared in case of an emergency.
To generate your form that you can print or save for offline use, click here:
FILL OUT DISASTER READINESS FORM
If you have questions or would like further assistance, please contact us by calling 800-960-7705, or visiting: https://disabilityrightsla.org/get-help-now/
