1 1 >> Good afternoon, everyone and welcome 2 to the emergency preparedness part one 3 teleconference. Today's host will be Tim 4 Fuchs. 5 >> TIM: Thank you, matt. Good 6 afternoon, everyone and welcome to the first 7 of two of our CIL-NET presentations on 8 emergency preparedness. Today's part one 9 presentation is titled assisting individuals 10 to prepare for emergency and part two of 11 this series, preparing your organization for 12 an emergency. I know that many of you will 13 have registered for and will be 14 participating on that call. If you haven't 15 done that, you can do so at www.NCIL.org. 16 Before we go any further, I'm Tim Fuchs, 17 a staff member of the CIL-NET project. 18 Today's broadcast is presented by CIL-NET, a 19 facilitator for centers for independent 20 living, the CIL-NET and statewide 21 independent living counsels. The IL-NET is 22 operated by -- ILRU at memorial Hermann TIRR 23 NCIL and the association of programs for 24 rural and independent living, April. A 25 substantial support for the development of 2 1 this presentation was provided by the U.S. 2 department of education. Rehabilitation 3 services administration under grant No. H 4 132 p B 37002. No official endorsement of 5 the department of education should be 6 inferred and I want to make a few more brief 7 announcements. I'll keep them as quick as 8 possible. 9 First of all, please be aware that we are 10 recording today's call and that it will be 11 archived on ILRU's website. Also, all of 12 your telephone lines are muted. When we 13 begin our Q and A sessions, you can ask 14 questions by pressing zero one on your key 15 pad and by web cast, you should see a 16 question submission form on the bottom of 17 your screen. All questions submitted will 18 be related life on the call. For all of our 19 participants, you're welcome to send 20 questions directly to me at Tim@NCIL.org and 21 I'll make sure that your question is relayed 22 live on the call to our presenters. 23 The materials for our call today are 24 located on the training website and that 25 is -- I'll read this out twice -- it is 3 1 www.NCIL.org/training/emergencyprepmaterials. 2 html. Again, this is the website that was 3 sent to you. But it's 4 www.NCIL.org/training/emergencyprepmaterials. 5 html. 6 I do want to let you-all know that we 7 have two brief manuals that are posted on 8 the web that are the companion materials to 9 these calls. 10 We will be focusing more on the 11 organization manual today. But you'll find 12 pieces of information from both these 13 presentations in those manuals. It's not 14 necessary to read along in the manuals 15 during the call and it really might make it 16 difficult to keep up if you try to do that. 17 So, we will be referencing the manuals, but 18 have them available but plan to read them 19 later on and concentrate today on the 20 presentation and I think it will benefit 21 you. 22 Also, if you have any questions about the 23 materials, you can follow up with us 24 afterwards by e-mail and we will respond. 25 Another important thing about the materials 4 1 page is that it includes two evaluation 2 forms, one for each call. They are 3 available online and please, please fill 4 that out and submit it to us. They are very 5 important to us. We do review every one and 6 we use them to plan all of our future 7 presentations and training. 8 I also, before we move on, I want to 9 acknowledge the flooding that's been taking 10 place in the Midwest and that is still. If 11 you haven't heard, the blackhawk center for 12 independent living in Waterloo Iowa was 13 destroyed by flood waters. Most have fared 14 well, but the truth will come out as they 15 reconnect with consumers in the coming 16 weeks. April are assisting as well as we 17 can, but we need your help. ILRU has 18 provided help to other centers in the past 19 with a 1-800 number. NCIL is preparing to 20 offer assistance from our disaster relief 21 fund. I just want to say that if you or 22 your organization is able to contribute, 23 please make a donate to that fund. The fund 24 is not contingent upon this. It is to cover 25 the insurance payment and actual losses to 5 1 centers destroyed by natural disasters. 2 Donations are tax deductible and can be sent 3 to the NCIL office, checks should be made 4 out to NCIL disaster relief fund. If you 5 want more information about that, e-mail me 6 at Tim@ NCIL.org. 7 Also, in addition to this week's webcast, 8 ILRU is sponsoring an additional webcast on 9 July 1. That will focus on emergency 10 preparedness and will be hostedly Lex 11 Frieden. So, look for announcements in your 12 e-mail and on NCIL's website. So, thanks. 13 This has been a lot of information. I 14 wanted to get that out. I don't want to 15 hold things up. So, back to today's 16 presentation. Our presenters are Richard 17 petty who is program director at ILRU, Jeff 18 sheen. Jeff is project director for persons 19 with disability at Utah state university. 20 Also, today I am excited that we have 21 Christy Dunaway with us. Christy is 22 executive director for the life of 23 Mississippi center for independent living. 24 Christy is on the line today just to assist 25 me with questions. She may or may not chime 6 1 in but she will be lead trainer on 2 Wednesday's call. I want to thank all of 3 our presenters for being here today and also 4 for putting together an excellent 5 presentation. Richard will be our first 6 speaker. 7 >> RICHARD: Thank you, Tim. Good 8 afternoon, all. We have presenters this 9 afternoon in Washington D.C., Houston, 10 Texas, Logan, Utah and Christy in 11 Mississippi. 12 So, hello to all the presenters and we 13 also have participants from many states on 14 the call. So, it's a pleasure to be able to 15 be with you on the webcast and 16 teleconference technology that we have 17 today. 18 As Tim said, we're going to be working 19 from two manuals for emergency preparedness 20 for cils, centers for independent living. 21 One for the organization preparation which 22 includes a good bit of material to help you 23 help individuals with disabilities prepare 24 for emergencies and also a guide for 25 community preparedness which helps centers 7 1 in fulfilling their advocate role to help 2 communities with their emergency planning. 3 I'd also like to mention another resource 4 that may be of assistance for you. It's on 5 the webcast page, but let me highlight it. 6 It's disability911.org. That has been 7 developed by Lex Frieden. It's disability 8 911.org. That website has plans, sample 9 plans, checklists, pamphlets, brochures, 10 materials, interviews with emergency 11 preparedness officials and other useful 12 information that you can use in helping 13 individuals prepare for disasters. 14 Today this webcast is targeted to those 15 who are front line workers in centers for 16 independent living. Also, to managers and 17 executives in centers. We also believe that 18 this webcast will be useful for members and 19 staff of statewide independent living 20 counsels in helping those councils 21 understand the role that centers play in 22 emergency preparedness. 23 And finally, we hope that later on this 24 webcast will also be of value to other 25 organizations in the community that serve 8 1 individuals in helping those organizations 2 fulfill their role in disaster preparedness. 3 By the end of the webcast, we hope that 4 today you will have learned and be able to 5 advocate for improved emergency preparedness 6 in your community to support the disability 7 community in advocating for emergency 8 preparedness, to encourage and explain the 9 importance of developing a personal 10 emergency preparedness plan for people with 11 disabilities and that's your individual 12 service role of helping individuals to 13 prepare for disaster, that you'll have a 14 better understanding of what to expect in 15 emergencies and you'll be able to share that 16 information with people with disabilities. 17 You'll know what should be in a personal 18 emergency preparedness plan and we'll walk 19 through a plan today and we also will lead 20 you to resources and materials that will be 21 of help to you as you prepare and help 22 individuals prepare for disasters. 23 It's important to talk just a little bit 24 about the state of emergency preparedness 25 and why it's important to be prepared. 9 1 We know that people with disabilities are 2 less well prepared than the general public. 3 Studies have shown that 60 percent of us do 4 not have an emergency plan ready. Most of 5 us are not prepared with an emergency kit to 6 be ready for a disaster. 70 percent of us 7 have not made plans for emergency housing 8 should we have to be evacuated or should we 9 have to evacuate from our own homes. 10 Few of us have made plans for attendant 11 services and even for animals or pets. 12 These are reasons that people often don't 13 evacuate or why people don't survive in 14 disasters when we're not well prepared. 15 Perhaps the most important reason for people 16 with disabilities is that communities are 17 not prepared to assist us. We're on our 18 own. Taking that personal responsibility 19 ahead of time may make the difference 20 between surviving a disaster and not 21 surviving a disaster. 22 A little bit more about community 23 preparedness. Studies have shown that 24 people in general do not act as emergency 25 planners, expect us to react and act in 10 1 disasters. For example, there has been a 2 study of how people would react if we were 3 to be asked to shelter in place and because 4 people have not made plans and may be away 5 from their families or homes, often not 6 shelter in place but in trying to leave 7 their homes, they will be unprotected and 8 out in the open. But for them, for very 9 legitimate reasons. That's just one 10 example. 11 We can also look at how people have 12 reacted in disasters in the past. We can 13 look at New Orleans. Emergency planners 14 expected people to evacuate when an 15 emergency order was announced, but people in 16 New Orleans did not do that in large part, 17 especially people with disabilities. 18 People with disabilities did not have 19 transportation. Their disabilities 20 prevented them from leaving their homes 21 easily. Few of them had prepared and set 22 aside money to evacuate and the timing of 23 the hurricane was such that many people 24 found themselves at the end of the month 25 without money and without resources to 11 1 evacuate and that had not been taken into 2 consideration in emergency planning. 3 When people did go to shelter in the New 4 Orleans area, they found the superdome to be 5 a dangerous, unpleasant and unwelcome place, 6 especially for people with disabilities and 7 those people who did evacuate were separated 8 from family and friends, leaving them 9 without the important human supports that 10 are so important in surviving a disaster. 11 All of this points to an important role 12 for centers for independent living. If 13 there is an endeavor that is in great need 14 of constituent involvement, it is disaster 15 preparedness. The evidence is that 16 emergency preparedness in most communities 17 are little better than they were at the time 18 of several large disasters in the past 19 several years. 20 Studies have shown that people with 21 disabilities and other people are not 22 involved with disaster planning. With the 23 role that centers have had over decades in 24 operating with consumer direction and with 25 close connections with their constituents, 12 1 there's much that centers can offer to 2 communities in helping them to understand 3 not only what the needs of people with 4 disabilities are but also how they can 5 operate with the involvement of constituent 6 groups. 7 This is an important opportunity for 8 centers where centers have specific 9 knowledge not only about people with 10 disabilities but also how to operate in a 11 highly responsive way so that the needs of 12 constituents are considered. 13 There's much more that we can say about 14 that, but that is in a nutshell some of the 15 reasons that we must encourage people with 16 disabilities to take personal responsibility 17 to prepare for disasters because, 18 unfortunately, our communities are not 19 prepared to do so. 20 And it's also a reason for centers for 21 independent living to continue to advocate 22 for improved emergency preparedness in our 23 communities. 24 Let's pause for a minute and take 25 questions and, matt, I'll turn things over 13 1 to you so that we can receive any questions 2 right now. We have a brief period for 3 questions right now and then we'll move into 4 a discussion of more emergency preparedness 5 of centers. 6 >> OPERATOR: If you have a question at 7 this time please press zero one on your 8 telephone key pad. Your first question 9 comes from Cheryl. 10 >> CALLER: I was just wondering and I 11 get this question a lot. Although there are 12 approximately 20 percent of people with 13 disabilities in our community, how many of 14 those, just at a guess, what's the 15 percentage of people who would actually need 16 assistance in the event of an emergency? 17 >> richard: Well, I think we could 18 probably expect it to be a fairly large 19 percentage of that number. And the reason 20 is that the information that was gathered 21 after hurricane Katrina and certainly this 22 is only one kind of a disaster; it just 23 happens to be some of the information that 24 we have -- we've seen figures of anywhere 25 from 13 to 15 percent of the over all 14 1 population that needed some form of 2 additional assistance and that didn't 3 receive it, which hindered their evacuation, 4 either causing them to not evacuate at all 5 and to be in dire circumstances or to have 6 great difficulty in the evacuation. 7 We need to remember that there are not 8 only adults, but children with disabilities 9 and older persons with disabilities. So, 10 sometimes that 20 percent figure doesn't 11 fully take into account all of the 12 populations, all of the age groups. 13 So, it's, I believe, surprisingly high 14 given what we've seen from previous 15 disasters. 16 >> CALLER: Thank you. 17 >> OPERATOR: The next question comes 18 from (inaudible). Go ahead. 19 >> CALLER: Thank you for your concern. 20 My comment and therefore question would be I 21 am a person myself with significant 22 disability. I sheltered in place this time, 23 but if I had gotten to a shelter that was 24 assigned to flood victims, what would be the 25 best way to find a solution so that shelter 15 1 workers become educated. 2 I don't need a PA at home because my home 3 is set in such a way that i can function by 4 myself but in a shelter, I will not be able 5 to function by myself. That's the largest 6 problem people have around here (inaudible) 7 totally independent when we are in shelters 8 when we are independent in our own home. 9 >> richard: That's an important 10 question. We're going to talk more about 11 shelters and what to expect in an emergency 12 later on in the webcast, but I'll give a 13 short answer now and we'll make sure to come 14 back to this. 15 First, most people with mobility 16 impairments and most people with 17 disabilities who have gone through disasters 18 strongly suggest that it's a good idea to 19 find whatever way possible to not go to a 20 shelter. The -- that having been said, the 21 department of justice has issued in 2007 an 22 accessibility tool kit for shelters. It 23 covers not only the physical access of 24 shelters, but it also covers other services 25 and supports within shelters. 16 1 One of the best ways to address shelter 2 access is to have the center address it long 3 before emergencies occur. And that includes 4 education of staff, using the tool kit to go 5 through and talk with the operators of 6 shelters about accessibility and about 7 what's required, encouraging shelters to 8 operate not as separate segregate facilities 9 for people with disabilities but to have all 10 shelters as accessible as possible, although 11 that's probably a very long-term aspiration 12 at this point because I think as you 13 probably could tell us, there are separate 14 shelters for people who have personal 15 assistance needs, at least there seem to 16 still be in most places. 17 So, let me just focus back to a very 18 quick summary, advanced preparation with 19 advocacy -- the use of the department of 20 justice tool kit and being fully prepared to 21 explain your needs when you get to the 22 shelter to be able to address them at that 23 point. But the first and foremost thing is 24 try to create an emergency preparedness plan 25 that's not dependent upon going to a shelter 17 1 that involves doing something other than 2 that. 3 >> CALLER: Thank you. 4 >> richard: I wish I had a better 5 answer. 6 >> CALLER: Well, wasn't expecting a 7 miracle. I just want to also say that I'm 8 grateful for your thoughts about us. I'm 9 the executive director of the other cil that 10 was questionable (inaudible) so we're happy 11 that we're all safe here. 12 >> richard: Well, we're grateful that 13 you're safe and it is good to hear you and 14 to know that you are safe. All of us on 15 this call and I know that hundreds and 16 hundreds of centers around the country are 17 eager to help in any way they can as are we. 18 >> CALLER: We are helping the blackhawk 19 center ourselves here too. They need 20 everybody's help and then some. It's 21 devastating to look at an ocean in front of 22 your front door, you know? 23 >> richard: Dawn has been keeping us 24 apprised of what's going on, so, yes. 25 >> CALLER: Thank you so much. 18 1 >>: Thank you. 2 >> OPERATOR: Are there any questions 3 from the web at this time? 4 >>: No. We have not received any 5 questions from the webcast. 6 >> OPERATOR: The next question from the 7 audio comes from melissa. 8 >> CALLER: Hi, this is actually mark. 9 Melissa is the executive director. I'm the 10 independent living coordinator here. We've 11 got several fellow staff members sitting in. 12 But my question is you made a proposal 13 earlier in your introduction saying that 14 somebody who is disabled needs to set up a 15 plan. 16 And one of the things that they need to 17 do is set up income so that they can 18 function once they cannot -- you know, once 19 an emergency happens. I would like to know 20 just how a person who is disabled is going 21 to generate another month's worth of income 22 when all they can incur is social security 23 on a month to month basis anyway, which is 24 the majority of the disability population. 25 >> richard: First, we didn't say another 19 1 month of income. And it means trying to 2 save small amounts over an extended period 3 of time. There may be other ways of 4 securing donations and support from 5 emergency organizations within the 6 community, but the important thing to 7 remember is even if it does mean saving over 8 a long period of time, having even a little 9 bit of money that could help in gathering 10 things or even if it's getting a bus ticket 11 or doing something else could make a 12 tremendous difference in whether or not 13 someone survives the disaster. It's not 14 easy and it's certainly a challenging 15 recommendation to make. 16 But the alternative is worse than trying 17 to find a way on what we know a very limited 18 income to put some money aside over many, 19 many months. 20 >>: Richard, this is Christy. I think 21 what's important, mark, is that they have 22 access to what income they do have and I'm 23 sure that's going to be addressed in the 24 next section. But what we found were that 25 many of the consumers, because it hit at the 20 1 end of the month, they didn't have money. 2 But those who would have had checks 3 coming in the next day or so did not have 4 access to it. There are ways you can help 5 access their money better through direct 6 deposit and the use of debit cards and 7 things like that. 8 So, while it is important to try to save 9 a little bit of money, it is just as 10 important to access what money you might 11 have available to you in any way that you 12 can. And what we found was that people 13 might have had the money in their account 14 but they didn't have the means to access it 15 because they simply had not planned for it. 16 >> RICHARD: Do we have another question 17 in the Q? 18 >> OPERATOR: Your next question comes 19 from Sheila. 20 >> CALLER: I have two questions, 21 actually. One is I am totally blind and I 22 live in a city that has decent public 23 transportation when things are good. But, 24 of course, in an emergency, that falls to 25 pieces. 21 1 So, my question is how does one who is 2 fairly mobile get around when the 3 transportation that they generally rely on 4 doesn't work and they don't have really 5 people with cars that they can call on and 6 then I have another one after that? 7 >> RICHARD: Well, I am a person who is 8 blind also and I obviously don't drive and 9 have access to transportation other than 10 public transportation in Houston. And, 11 again, it's a very tough question; and I 12 have tried to reach out to people that I 13 know and I've done that through a network of 14 associates, and that may be a role that a 15 center can play, an important role, is to 16 help any of us think through what options we 17 do have because you're right, the 18 transportation systems will break down, 19 getting out early, finding someone that we 20 can connect with and that can help us get 21 away if it means evacuating. 22 And, you know, there are decisions to be 23 made about whether evacuation is the best 24 plan and it depends on the kind of emergency 25 you might face. 22 1 And it also depends upon finding out what 2 your community plans to do for people who do 3 not have public transportation and what 4 their plans are. 5 So, this is one of the rare instances in 6 which there may actually be some value in 7 registering through a 211 system although 8 there are a lot of caveats to that that 9 we'll try to get to later on, a lot of 10 reasons, at least to do it and understand 11 that you have to look at having a set of 12 contingencies if you do use that 13 registration system. 14 So, quickly, looking at alternatives, 15 trying to find other forms of support, 16 finding out what your community plans to do, 17 planning to leave early either through 18 public transportation system or through some 19 informal transportation network. 20 >> CALLER: Okay. I consider myself a 21 resource as well as -- well, I don't know if 22 I consider myself a liability, but I think 23 sometimes emergency plans consider folks 24 with disabilities liabilities. But I 25 consider myself a resource and would like to 23 1 be considered -- I am a ham operator and am 2 a trained volunteer and would like to be an 3 adjunct to my local IFC in some fashion. 4 But I don't know if there's any policy of 5 plan for me to notify them of that. None of 6 their representatives are here at the 7 moment, but I intend to bring it back to 8 them. 9 >> RICHARD: Bring it back to your center 10 and bring it back to the red cross and go 11 through the red cross training. It may be 12 that whether you stay or not, you may be 13 able to play an important role in planning; 14 you may be able to play an important role in 15 shelters providing assistance there. 16 You may be able to be one of the 17 representatives of your center who having 18 gone through red cross certification 19 training can actually go in center and cast 20 people in centers. Christy may have more to 21 say about that. 22 >>: FYI, the red cross doesn't let folks 23 with disabilities do anything outside their 24 city and sort of different with red cross. 25 Anyway, thanks. 24 1 >> richard: thank you, too. 2 >> tim: Richard, I hate to curtail the Q 3 and A session, but if you are still in a 4 question, if you would please write your 5 question down for later or e-mail it to me 6 at Tim@NCIL.org. But we do need to proceed 7 with today's presentation. 8 >> RICHARD: Thank you, Tim. 9 >> tim: Our next presenter is Jeff sheen 10 and Jeff is going to talk a little bit 11 about -- excuse me -- is going to speak a 12 little bit about some of the things centers 13 can do to assist in preparation and then 14 I'll follow up. 15 >> JEFF: Thank you, Richard. Hello, 16 everyone this is Jeff sheen. I want to talk 17 a little bit about some specific things that 18 your centers can do to assist the 19 individuals you serve to take action in 20 getting better prepared for an emergency. 21 Certainly the comments I am going to make 22 are general and you may need to adapt them 23 to the specific needs of your center. 24 I want to start with another piece of 25 information that came out from a survey 25 1 after the 911 attacks. It found that 2 58 percent of people with disabilities 3 aren't sure who to contact about emergency 4 preparedness in their community. 5 So, I want to use that to just -- by way 6 of introduction to the fact that your 7 center -- certainly not for all people with 8 disabilities -- but for many it may be the 9 first place they go to find information 10 about how to better prepare for an 11 emergency. 12 There's a few things a center can do. 13 The things we have in the guides are a based 14 on lessons learned from other centers that 15 have been through a disaster and things they 16 have wanted to pass on. 17 The place to start in this area is really 18 with education. You need to find out among 19 the people you serve what they have done 20 already in this area and some centers do 21 that in a very formal manner; they do a 22 survey and things like that. Others just do 23 that by way of mouth if they work with their 24 consumers. 25 It's important as Richard mentioned early 26 1 on to generate awareness. That seems to be 2 much easier to do on the heels of an 3 unfortunate disaster such as the flooding in 4 the Midwest. People generally perk up about 5 this issue right after it's happened. 6 Unfortunately as a society, we tend to go 7 back into a role and get more complacent as 8 we get further and further from the actual 9 event. 10 So, you need to spend time generating 11 awareness about emergency preparedness, 12 about what they need to do as an individual 13 to become better prepared. And there's a 14 couple of things that centers can do. Some 15 centers have assigned a particular staff 16 member to coordinate and collect materials 17 that are specific to their community on 18 emergency preparedness. 19 They have disseminated these materials 20 through existing mechanisms they have in 21 place, whether a monthly newsletter or 22 posters or website, they get this 23 information out to generate that interest 24 and awareness. 25 Another thing centers have done is expand 27 1 their resource library to make sure it 2 includes general information on emergency 3 preparedness but more importantly about 4 specific local resources that can assist and 5 where people can find more information. 6 So, that's the education piece. And then 7 we have kind of divided activities into two 8 main sections. 9 Group activities you can do as a center 10 and work with large numbers of consumers at 11 one time and the second is to work 12 individually with individuals on their 13 particular needs. 14 Now as we talk about group activities 15 your center might do, we do have to give 16 this disclaimer. These are additional 17 activities that your center can do and 18 certainly they take staff time and they take 19 resources. 20 So, you do have to be aware of that and 21 you have to balance your activities in 22 emergency preparedness with the rest of all 23 the other functions that centers are so good 24 at and have responsibility for. 25 So, you can take this as far as you like 28 1 in the center but remember to balance it 2 with all the other important things that you 3 do. So we really suggest that you look at 4 ways of incorporating activities in the 5 services and support that you already 6 provide. 7 So if you have different group meetings 8 throughout the month, incorporate specific 9 activities around emergency preparedness. 10 You might have a little vision group and 11 they discuss different topics. Make one of 12 those topics emergency preparedness. So, 13 use the groups you have existing and 14 incorporate emergency preparedness 15 activities into those existing groups. 16 Some examples from the centers here in 17 Utah, what they have done in this area, they 18 spent a month focusing on emergency 19 preparedness and as part of that, they had a 20 group activity where they developed 21 individual emergency response binders, they 22 worked with the local community college to 23 have students do research and assembled that 24 information in binders and in dealing with 25 new consumers, everyone that's new gets one 29 1 of those binders of information about how to 2 prepare for an emergency in the community. 3 They have held workshops and done to do 4 lists. So, as a group, they brainstormed 5 what do we need to do as a center and as 6 individuals to get better prepared. That 7 works really well in small group settings. 8 Another thing, get involved in the 9 community. If your community has emergency 10 preparedness fairs or workshops, sponsor a 11 disability related booth. Get a disability 12 related perspective into those community 13 events if they're not already there. 14 Another important thing is host specific 15 topic discussion groups in your center. 16 That may be about what to do with service 17 animals, durable medical equipment issues, 18 individuals that may have some power 19 equipment, individuals that work with 20 personal attendant services; host some 21 discussion groups that be help alleviate 22 some of the concerns individuals might have, 23 give them the information and resources they 24 might need to proceed. 25 One of the things that worked well here 30 1 was a workshop where the center had gone out 2 with their advocates and contacted local 3 businesses for donations such as water, 4 backpacks, things that you would have in a 5 basic emergency kit. 6 They were able to get enough donations 7 that they put together as a group kits that 8 included a flashlight, nutritional bars, 9 space blanket and hygiene items. That was a 10 really good activity to increase individual 11 preparedness. With that, I want to pass it 12 back to Richard to talk about some 13 individual activities that your center 14 might be involved with. 15 >> RICHARD: Thank you, Jeff. There are 16 several things that centers could do to 17 assist individuals. First and foremost -- 18 and we'll talk more about this -- is helping 19 people to prepare an individual plan, to 20 think through all the things that they'll 21 need to gather to think through the steps 22 that they'll need to take, where they'll go, 23 how they'll go there, if they're going to 24 shelter what they need to shelter -- help 25 them think through how much water they'll 31 1 need, what they'll need for service animals, 2 what they'll need for attendant services and 3 back up attendant services. 4 There are general lists that are 5 available on websites that you can access 6 through disability 911.org but as an 7 example, ready.gov is a site that has a lot 8 of general lists and also some lists related 9 to people with disabilities and there's even 10 some better lists on our web page today that 11 address disabilities specific issues that 12 those things need to be added to a list that 13 a center would help someone prepare. 14 The next thing that you could do is to 15 help people complete a checklist, a 16 checklist of not just a plan, but a 17 checklist of the things they need to gather, 18 the things they need to take and have with 19 them for an emergency. And that could be 20 anything from durable medical supplies; it 21 could be supplies for a service animal, 22 eyeglasses, prescription medications, a 23 supply of those to last several days, 24 anything that they would need to have to be 25 able to weather a disaster. 32 1 You can help people to complete a medical 2 checklist and there are several examples 3 through the websites that we have mentioned, 4 but it's important for people to have a 5 checklist that lists their physicians, that 6 lists the medications that they are taking 7 and that give some basic information about 8 their condition in case can they are in a 9 situation where they can't communicate their 10 needs. 11 And here's something that centers might 12 do that would be kind of interesting. It's 13 easy to find waterproof paper and if you 14 assisted people to complete plans and lists 15 and checklists and lists of medical 16 information that you could actually help 17 them by printing it on to water proof water 18 and providing them with copies of it so that 19 they could keep those copies. You might 20 also give them ideas about where to find 21 waterproof containers to keep that and carry 22 with them so that they can have it 23 regardless of the circumstances they find 24 themselves in. 25 You can assist them in copying important 33 1 documents, maybe other documents that they 2 have that are important personal papers. 3 Those are things that are often lost. This 4 is not photo albums and things like this, 5 but things that may be just essential for 6 them to have. They may have birth 7 CERTificaates and other important documents, 8 social security cards and things that they 9 need copies of. 10 A center might be a good location to do 11 that from if you feel that's a service that 12 you can provide. And like I said, you can 13 show people secure ways of storing those 14 documents and store them in compact storage 15 mechanisms. 16 And as technology improves, I think we 17 are very close to seeing the possibility of 18 people having very small memory cards. 19 Flash cards are actually very small now. 20 They are postage stamp size and people can 21 carry that kind of information with them. 22 There are on the market now some somewhat 23 expensive waterproof devices that could be 24 carried and it would not surprise me if 25 we're in a matter of months of seeing those 34 1 prices drop where they might be affordable 2 to everyone and anyone in the center might 3 be able to help with that. 4 You can have people gather an emergency 5 kit; Jeff mentioned that. It might be a 6 possibility of gathering people together at 7 a center and having them put the kits 8 together as a group and it's kind of an 9 interesting and fun exercise and it's a way 10 of making sure that people need the things 11 together. 12 Christy's center provides an emergency 13 kit and I believe it has a flashlight, a 14 blanket, some energy bars, things like that 15 that are basic things that people might need 16 and that would be a foundation or the 17 beginning for an emergency kit. 18 Encourage people to try to arrange at 19 least a few days of medication and this is 20 something they may be able to do with their 21 doctor, especially if they receive Medicaid. 22 It still may be possible to get a seven day 23 supply of medications that would last 24 through an emergency, would get them to 25 somewhere else and allow them to be able to 35 1 get additional medication at that point but 2 at least they wouldn't go several days 3 without medication. 4 And, again, just to go back to the list, 5 medical list, to help them to create a list 6 of all of their medications and to keep that 7 list updated so that they do have good 8 information about what their medication 9 needs are. 10 And finally, just provide ongoing support 11 to people as they're gathering their plans, 12 as they're gathering all the things they 13 need to take. 14 Sometimes they may have questions or 15 sometimes they just need to check in or 16 someone just check in with them and say, 17 how's it going with that plan? 18 We know the resources of centers are 19 limited. So, it may serve well for you and 20 the people you're working with to conduct 21 these kinds of activits during an initial 22 visit or during the times that you make 23 ongoing contact with someone so that you're 24 incorporating these steps into work that 25 you're already doing and that you're not 36 1 creating additional contacts with folks and 2 creating additional work for the center and 3 yet you're still helping to meet an 4 important need. 5 Well, those are some of the things that 6 centers can do on an individual basis to 7 assist. And, Tim, correct me if I'm wrong 8 but I now think we're at a point where we 9 can take a few more questions. 10 >>: I just wanted to talk about the 11 personal plan a little bit more when we have 12 time. So I can do that now or after these 13 questions. 14 >> TIM: Go ahead, Jeff. 15 >> JEFF: I wanted to include some things 16 to include in your emergency preparedness. 17 When we do these life trains, we always ask 18 people on a scale of one to ten how prepared 19 they are. People don't have a good solid 20 emergency plan for themselves because they 21 start down that road and they quickly get 22 overwhelmed with all the things they have 23 and are supposed to do. 24 I want to mention a few keys in starting 25 with that plan. The first thing is take it 37 1 one step at a time. don't get overwhelmed 2 by everything that's supposed to be in the 3 kit and all the things that you're supposed 4 to have information for. 5 Prioritize and pick one of two things 6 that can be manageable to start to build 7 momentum towards a solid plan. The next 8 thing is to be thorough, but keep it simple. 9 For example, at ready.gov, they have three 10 steps that they consider important. The 11 first is get a kit. The second is make a 12 plan and the third is stay informed. That's 13 an example of keeping things simple but also 14 being thorough and I want to talk more about 15 that in just a minute. 16 The other quick thing I want to mention 17 as we get into this, staff members at 18 centers, how important it is for yourself to 19 be prepared, to have a plan for yourself. 20 It will help you be more more of a 21 resource in a disaster if you're well 22 prepared. It will also help you assist 23 others to be prepared. 24 So what goes into a good emergency plan 25 and where would you start and Richard 38 1 mentioned several websites and we'll talk 2 more about them at the end. Many of them 3 suggest a self-assessment. Really 4 understand what your specific needs are in 5 the event that you have to evacuate or 6 shelter in place and consider the different 7 types of assistive technology that you might 8 use, the medications you have, living 9 quarters, evacuation routes, really think 10 through what your specific situation might 11 entail in a disaster. 12 The second place to start and probably 13 the most critical is the importance of 14 creating a personal support network. This 15 is probably going to be the first source of 16 help in an emergency and that is people that 17 you have worked with ahead of time to 18 identify -- this may be friends; neighbors, 19 coworkers, extend help to them because in 20 the event the people you are used to working 21 with may or may not be available. And don't 22 depend on just one person. The support 23 network really needs to have three people or 24 more. They need to understand how to 25 operate some of the equipment that you use, 39 1 understand some of your medications, 2 understand some of your personal care issues 3 that you may have and the key of all of this 4 is the preparation stages, really finding 5 people you trust and really explain to them 6 what your needs might be in an emergency. 7 We have a checklist that's available on 8 our website that I'll mention later on, I 9 think, to consider with your personal 10 support network. They include things like 11 tell them what your specific needs are and 12 where your emergency supplies are stored, 13 show them how to handle equipment, exchange 14 important information, maybe they have a 15 copy of important documents that you might 16 have that you might need in the event of an 17 emergency and really try to make those 18 relationships mutual. Learn what each 19 other's needs are and learn how you might 20 assist them while they're assisting you with 21 different things. 22 So I can't emphasize enough the 23 importance of creating a diverse network. 24 That being said, there may be times that you 25 find yourself in a shelter and you can't 40 1 make contact with that group. As Richard 2 mentioned earlier, if you can avoid 3 shelters, great. If not, you do want to be 4 able to communicate clearly what your 5 specific needs are or have that information 6 with you so that others can get ahold of it 7 and you want to be aware of what type of 8 people to look for in staff that may be more 9 helpful than others. 10 As you go into the shelter, try to find 11 those staff members, those volunteers that 12 are a little bit more willing to work with 13 you versus to dismiss you quickly and to 14 want to move on to other things. 15 So the next thing in our plan is a health 16 information or emergency contact card. 17 Again, there are so many different resources 18 on the internet around these issues. We 19 have tried to find what we consider some of 20 the best and put them in the appendix and 21 also list them on the training website. 22 There are some that are very basic that ask 23 you to list your name and emergency contact 24 and brief medical information. 25 There's one that I'm particularly fond of 41 1 that is from the American academy of 2 pediatrics that can be adapted to adults as 3 well. But it has places for more detailed 4 information about medications used, 5 allergies, recent procedures, different 6 personal care issues. 7 So, I would encourage you to find one 8 that meets your needs and the needs of those 9 that you work with. And they can be very 10 basic and we encourage folks to shrink those 11 down, laminate them or have them on 12 waterproof paper so that they are usable in 13 the event of a disaster. 14 Quickly, a communication plan. Once 15 you've established a personal support group 16 network, how are you going to communicate in 17 the event of a disaster? The chances are 18 you don't all together in the same room when 19 something happens. People wb at work, 20 school, out shopping. Know how you're going 21 to try and connect with one another, whether 22 that is a meeting location that you have 23 established, whether that's using the 24 resources that NCIL and IL-NET provide. 25 Plan ahead how you will get in touch with 42 1 one another and that's an integral part of 2 every person's plan. 3 The biggest decision is often whether to 4 stay or go. So, in your personal plan, you 5 will need to have information about what you 6 will need to either stay and shelter in 7 place or what you will need for an 8 evacuation plan. 9 For shelter in place, you need to write 10 down or think through, when will I stay, 11 where is the most secure place, who is going 12 to know that I'm here sheltering in place 13 and how am I going to let them know, what do 14 I have on hand as far as supplies. 15 The evacuation plan is similar, what 16 would I need to go; where would I go; who 17 needs to know and what am I going to take 18 with me? And there are plenty of plans out 19 on the internet that walk you through each 20 of these particular areas that give you a 21 place to fill in, the first place I would go 22 in an evacuation is here; if that failed, I 23 would go here. 24 If you only have one location in mind for 25 evacuation and the way there is blocked, you 43 1 really need to think through where alternate 2 locations might be. 3 That brings me to the final point which 4 is really what do you have in an emergency 5 preparedness kit? There are very basic kits 6 that would simply tide you over on your way 7 to a shelter and there are kits that you 8 would have at home that would provide you 9 with food and nutrition for at least three 10 days and up to a week. 11 There is a to go kit, something to take 12 with you and a very detailed checklist. The 13 one I particularly like is an 14 disability.org. It's a checklist that 15 addresses what to have if you evacuate and 16 what to have if you stay in place. 17 Probably the most critical things to 18 think about are medication issues; know what 19 type of insurance, whether a Medicaid 20 program or not, that allows people to fill 21 their prescriptions every 28 days. If so, 22 get on that schedule and it slowly allows 23 you to build up a supply of medication over 24 time if you refill every 28 days instead of 25 30. Have information about this, serious 44 1 numbers and product information about large 2 pieces of equipment will help. 3 And then another important issue is 4 thinking through what your kit might need if 5 you have a service animal. And typically, 6 it would be similar things, water and food 7 and any types of medications or things your 8 service animal might need. Briefly, I would 9 recommend that you go to those checklists 10 that we provided in the appendix and use 11 them and find one that meets your needs. 12 Some are much more basic than others, but it 13 needs to be personalized. 14 The final point I will make just briefly. 15 We encourage people when they start to 16 develop their plan to have an action plan. 17 That is, of the things I have mentioned, 18 pick two very specific things that you would 19 work on in the next week and make them very 20 specific tasks and write them down and when 21 you've accomplished them, pick two more 22 things. 23 For example, after the call, download one 24 of the checklists that we talked about. And 25 the second task you might have in your 45 1 action plan is complete an emergency card if 2 you haven't already done so. Once you've 3 done those, go to the next step and build 4 momentum. 5 Pick your priorities, water, food, start 6 there and then start to add the other pieces 7 as you go through. With that, Tim, I'll 8 turn it back over to you. 9 >> TIM: Thanks, Jeff. Very good. Let 10 us now break to take questions from the 11 audience. And, again, if you're 12 participating by telephone, press zero one 13 on your telephone key pad and if you're 14 participating by webcast, you should see a 15 link on the bottom of your screen or you can 16 e-mail them to me at Tim@NCIL.org. 17 >> OPERATOR: This is Dr. Lynn Saunders. 18 >> CALLER: Hello, I'm in California. 19 Can you hear me? 20 >>: Yes. 21 >> CALLER: I'm in California and what 22 we're facing is an eminent earthquake of a 23 pretty massive scale. I am the (inaudible) 24 for -- this county takes maybe three to 25 three and a half hours to drive from the top 46 1 to the bottom, maybe four hours. 2 What I'm concerned about is not only 3 these exit plans and so forth to go pack and 4 so forth and when to make the decision to 5 go; but in a dense population like we are in 6 California, I'm very concerned that two 7 things will happen. 8 One, our alternative persons that we 9 choose in the plan to provide for us are 10 going to be very encumbered with their 11 family and their ability to access to where 12 we are; and, two, that the freeways are 13 going to be so clogged that it's going to be 14 hard for anybody to get out. 15 How do I help my consumers understand how 16 to deal with this type of disaster and get 17 past the fear factor and do you have any 18 questions about how to augment any exit 19 strategy? 20 >>: I'll jump in first. When I talk 21 about the personal support network and we 22 talked in other places about an inventory of 23 neighborhood resources. And in a disaster 24 of that scale, really, the immediate -- your 25 immediate surroundings and the relationships 47 1 you have with the people in the immediate 2 area are really going to have a significant 3 impact on your well-being. 4 So, helping people understand and make 5 connections to those in their neighborhoods 6 and the very local parts of their community 7 and establish a network of support within 8 that local area is probably something you 9 could really assist individuals to do. 10 There's a number of issues that come up 11 with that, safety and accessibility and 12 other things. But really a disaster of that 13 scope, it's those personal and local 14 relationships that are going to make a 15 difference and alleviate fear if those are 16 in place in a disaster. 17 >>: To that, I would add simply in echo 18 that informal networks are going to be 19 extremely important in emergencies for which 20 there can be no advance planning or in which 21 you can expect limited or in this case, no 22 notice. It's similar for tornados. 23 The more advanced planning that you do, 24 the more that you can draw upon informal 25 resources in people who live around you and 48 1 people you know and the more redundancy you 2 can build into your plan if this person 3 is -- 4 >> OPERATOR: If there are any questions 5 at this time please press zero one on your 6 telephone key pad. 7 >> caller: I'd like to piggyback on the 8 comment that came from California. 9 (inaudible) emergency little known -- push 10 my lifeline button and I recommend that 11 anybody who doesn't have a family 12 relationship or a close friend relationship 13 close by should probably be first to sign up 14 for lifeline. 15 And the second call I made was to the 16 police department. At the moment I live in 17 a (inaudible) and a new housing development 18 and I'm the first one that moved in and I 19 don't have any neighbors yet. So I made a 20 deal with the local police department so 21 that they know that I'm sheltering in place 22 and that I live there. They also know that 23 I am (inaudible). 24 So that works out fairly good. So in the 25 event of short notice, you might want 49 1 (inaudible) police departments have their 2 nonemergency number, not the 911 number and 3 also encourage them to maybe participate in 4 lifeline. 5 >>: Thank you for your comments. 6 Richard, are you there, are you all right? 7 >> RICHARD: I am back. Can you hear me 8 now? 9 I'll finish up kind of quickly here that 10 building as much redundancy trying to find 11 options where if one resource is not 12 available, that you'll have others who can. 13 I think the idea of connecting with your 14 police department is excellent. We'll talk 15 in a minute about registry services -- many 16 reservations about that but there may be 17 opportunities there, too. 18 >> OPERATOR: If there are any further 19 questions at this time please press zero one 20 on your telephone key pad. Do we have any 21 web questions at this time? 22 >>: We do not. Thank you. 23 >> OPERATOR: There are no further 24 questions at this time. 25 >> RICHARD: Okay. Jeff and Tim, if 50 1 you'd like, let's move into helping people 2 know what to expect during an emergency. 3 And this is an important issue because it 4 deals not only with what people can expect 5 but I think that one really important part 6 of this is what centers can do to change the 7 landscape of what people can expect. The 8 more centers can be at the table -- the more 9 people can see they are at the table and not 10 just tokens in disaster planning, the more 11 effective disaster planning will be. 12 At present, we know that red cross and 13 other emergency officials tend to think of 14 groups as people with special needs and that 15 groups people with disabilities into several 16 other groups as people with medical needs, 17 immediate medical needs, people who are 18 older, people who have mobility impairments 19 and other groups. 20 And for right now, as long as that's the 21 term that's in the regulations, we're 22 probably going to deal with organizations 23 that use those terms. So it's just as 24 important that we begin to, as we work on 25 planning, that we use people first language 51 1 and we begin to identify not just people 2 with disabilities broadly but people with 3 specific different kinds of needs. 4 >> JEFF: Richard, are you still there? 5 Just to add to what Richard said, as 6 centers you're advocating for improved 7 access to the community and improved 8 experiences for people with disabilities and 9 reducing isolation and educating broader 10 community about disability issues, that 11 really does lay the ground work for 12 effective emergency preparedness and getting 13 the disability perspective brought into the 14 community level plans and that will not only 15 help the community responders be better 16 prepared, but it will help individuals with 17 disabilities understand more appropriately 18 what they can expect from first responders 19 from community planners. 20 Richard has referred to the registry 21 issue, and one of the concerns that comes up 22 with local registries, which is those of you 23 that are unfamiliar is an opportunity 24 through a 211 service or through a website 25 to register with first responders that are 52 1 an individual with specific needs, whether 2 you have power dependent equipment and other 3 things, a false sense of security that can 4 come with that. We want to dispel the 5 notion that because I signed up, I'm taken 6 care of; I'll be the first person they take 7 care of. 8 That is not exactly what first responder 9 registries do. Certainly, there are 10 advantages of being on that when it comes to 11 power outages, knowing critical needs and 12 they can concentrate on addressing those 13 needs first. But when we talk about people 14 signing up for registries or even here in 15 Utah, facilities sign up. If a person has a 16 group home, they can sign support people, 17 what their needs might be and it provides 18 very valuable information that they know 19 they need several buses for people to be 20 evacuated. 21 But at the same time we caution those 22 people that that does not replace their need 23 to have a personal plan and a personal 24 support network because first responders 25 have multiple needs to address. They are 53 1 very critical at different points in time 2 and that registry does not guarantee that 3 you're first on that list. Richard, I don't 4 know if you've been able to rejoin us. 5 >> DAWN: I'm sorry, this is dawn. We're 6 having storms here in Houston. 7 >> JEFF: Certainly, Richard is much more 8 astute of the registry, so I'll leave that 9 to him. Other things we wanted to cover at 10 the close of this call, I wanted to talk 11 about some of the resources that are in the 12 appendix of the guides. There are several 13 internet sites, specifically, resources that 14 you can use to help individuals better 15 prepare. 16 One that I want to point out that Tim has 17 put on the training site, several new 18 resources have come out. One is from Maine. 19 They have a self-advocacy group that put 20 together training materials specifically for 21 people with intellectual disabilities. It 22 was developed by self-advocates for 23 self-advocates. I want to point out that 24 that's available on the training website. 25 Also, we have taken these guides that ILRU 54 1 and NCIL have developed and I incorporate 2 them in a program that I run here in Utah. 3 It's on the list for persons with 4 disabilities. 5 We have basically taken training 6 materials and put them into components. 7 That site lists all the material. You are 8 free to use that and adapt it for your 9 needs. Richard. 10 >> RICHARD: Jeff, I am back and I 11 apologize to everyone. For a day that we 12 had about 20 percent chance of rain, we have 13 had thunderstorms here in Houston and we 14 were without electricity for a moment, but 15 we are back. 16 >> JEFF: I talked about some registry 17 issues as far as not using that as a 18 replacement for personal preparedness. 19 >> RICHARD: That's very good. We talked 20 a little bit about the advocacy issues. 21 There is a department of justice checklist 22 that deals with shelter accessibility and 23 it's at ada.gov and you can also reach it 24 through links. It shows that all shelters 25 will be accessible but that's long-term. 55 1 People at centers are at excellent 2 organizations to begin this process and go 3 through and work with shelter operators to 4 access the accessibility of shelters. Many 5 shelters as you know are in schools or older 6 buildings and those shelters will either 7 need to be moved or upgraded. The 8 facilities will need to be upgraded. 9 But more than physical access there is 10 the training and understanding of people 11 with disabilities. For example, electrical 12 power for people who use ventilators, 13 allowing people with attendants to be in the 14 shelters with people who need those 15 attendants, effective communication for 16 people who are blind and deaf and need some 17 assistance. 18 People can expect pretty chaotic 19 circumstances within shelters and that's 20 why, again, we do recommend that if there is 21 any way of avoiding shelters that that be 22 done. But if it does happen that someone 23 has to go to a shelter, advocacy ahead of 24 time will be invaluable and also encouraging 25 individuals to speak to their needs when 56 1 they are in shelters and how to go about 2 speaking to what their needs are so that 3 those needs can be met. 4 Again, I'll just -- and we're coming 5 close on time here so I'll try to be very 6 quick to say that expecting to have supplies 7 of at least water and a very basic kind of 8 kit if someone has to ride through an 9 emergency is going to be very important. I 10 also must mention as someone who is a dog 11 guide user, being prepared to have 12 identification that clearly indicates that 13 the dog is -- dog or animal is a service 14 animal. That is not required by the 15 Americans with disabilities act, proof is 16 not required. 17 But in a circumstance where there are 18 many people who won't know what's going on 19 or won't understand -- excuse me, we're 20 having a lot of thunder here and you may 21 hear it in the background -- who won't know 22 the laws and there is a real danger of being 23 separated from service animals. 24 So people need to be able to prove that 25 their animals are service animals and they 57 1 need to be prepared to take care of animals. 2 That's not exactly everything we would have 3 included but we are short on time and we've 4 had some interruptions and I apologize for 5 those. 6 >> TIM: Thank you, Richard. We will now 7 begin our final Q and A session of the call. 8 One more time, you can press zero one to ask 9 questions by telephone or use the form on 10 the webcast or e-mail questions directly to 11 me at Tim@NCIL.org. Lisa, do we have any 12 questions? 13 >> CALLER: I want to piggyback on the 14 service animal issue. You must also be 15 prepared that the service animal may 16 (inaudible) and that it may not react the 17 way it normally reacts in a shelter. And I 18 believe that IAADT.org has several resources 19 to deal with an emergency kit for your 20 service animal. It's IAADT.org. 21 >> OPERATOR: Your next question comes 22 from Dr. Lynn Saunders. 23 >> CALLER: Thank you. Regarding 24 these -- I also have a service animal, a 25 working eye dog, an elderly dog. I was 58 1 watching very closely on the Katrina 2 disaster and the whole issue with animals 3 and the evacuation and how important it got 4 to be, there was a documentary on PBS. 5 Isn't it now a Federal law that you can't be 6 restricted from taking your pets if you wish 7 to take them with you? Does anybody know? 8 I believe that PBS special was 9 instrumental in getting a law passed that 10 you not be denied to take your animal with 11 you. 12 >>: I don't know about pets. I know the 13 Americans with disabilities act and many 14 state laws -- I'm not familiar with pets. 15 >>: This is Christy. I don't know that 16 it's a law that's been passed but there are 17 many shelters beginning to open for 18 individuals with pets. 19 >> CALLER: I'm absolutely sure that's 20 what I heard on that description on the 21 PBS -- it was the survival of the animals. 22 25,000 were abandoned and only about 2500 23 were recovered. 24 >>: The issue is the same and certainly 25 for those of us who are concerned about 59 1 animals, there is another issue is it 2 prevents people from leaving. Sometimes 3 people will stay and I can understand why 4 they would, but they will stay and they will 5 put themselves in jeopardy. 6 >> CALLER: That's exactly the point that 7 the documentary was making. 8 >> OPERATOR: If there are any further 9 questions at this time please press zero one 10 on your telephone key pad. Next question. 11 >> CALLER: I just want to clarify that I 12 believe the PBS said that they would have to 13 have at least one dedicated shelter but I 14 don't think it has to be every shelter 15 accepting animals. 16 >> TIM: Thank you. 17 >> OPERATOR: If there are any further 18 questions at this time please press zero one 19 on your telephone kay pad. Do we have any 20 web questions at this time? 21 >>: We do not. Thank you. 22 >> OPERATOR: There are no further 23 questions at this time. 24 >> JEFF: Tim, this is Jeff if you want 25 me to go ahead and jump in with the next 60 1 test, an overview of part two. 2 >> TIM: That'd be great. I just 3 received an e-mail if you would turn it back 4 over to me, I would appreciate it. 5 >> JEFF: Coming up this Wednesday, we're 6 going to talk more specifically about 7 preparing the center yourself; that is the 8 structure where you're located. We're going 9 to have a discussion about important 10 documents and how to back them up and how to 11 have them available. 12 We'll talk about personality issues in a 13 disaster both in preparing for and in 14 recovery. It will be quite an opportunity 15 to have Christy lead that call. She's got 16 valuable experience in this area as the 17 director of the independent living center in 18 mississippi. 19 I also believe that you might, Tim, have 20 some additional question and answer in 21 regards to recent events in the Midwest. 22 I've made reference, look at the guides; 23 they are annotated. It gives a brief 24 description of what's available on each of 25 the sites. In particular, there's 61 1 information on the national center for 2 disability, specific types of disability and 3 I personally want to recommend the 911.org 4 website. 5 It's very clean; it's very easy to 6 navigate and it has a tremendous amount of 7 resources in previous archived webcasts as 8 well as important articles that you might 9 find useful. 10 >> JEFF: Thank you, Tim. I want to wrap 11 up, here, but first a comment. It came from 12 Ken -- Ken runs the center in Waterloo. 13 It's a very simple tip, but it's important. 14 Ken says give the people a cell phone 15 number to keep up with. After the phone 16 lines were out, they said it would be ten to 17 15 days before they get phone service again. 18 So, everything is being done by cell phone. 19 Also, most centers do not have cell phones. 20 If you have an organization phone that you 21 own and don't have to ask people to foot the 22 bill for, it could be particularly useful. 23 So, make sure to share a cell phone 24 number with consumers so they know how to 25 reach you if land lines go down. 62 1 Another thing I want to mention is Jeff 2 referenced a call. We had intended as soon 3 as tomorrow hold a question and answer call 4 for centers that were directly affected by 5 the flooding in the Midwest. 6 We were aware of these two presentations 7 which we started putting together months ago 8 would not address perfectly the needs of 9 centers that are going through this right 10 now, much of the material obviously focuses 11 on planning. 12 And in doing a little bit of research and 13 in talking to center directors in the area 14 and in the Midwest, we felt that it was a 15 bit too soon to do that this week. 16 So, we plan to do that in the coming 17 weeks and that call would be a very informal 18 dialogue if you will, between center 19 directors that are dealing with the flooding 20 in the Midwest right now and center 21 directors that have lived through disasters 22 before and have come up with some very 23 practical tips and life experiences that 24 could be very beneficial. So keep an eye 25 out. We will make that well known when we 63 1 go ahead with that presentation. 2 If there are any questions that you-all 3 think of after the fact after you digest the 4 information today, please don't hesitate to 5 e-mail me at Tim@NCIL.org. 6 Before we go, I truly want to thank you 7 all today for everyone that asked questions 8 and had comments, especially Jeff, Christy 9 and Richard. 10 I want to encourage you to visit our 11 training page. It's 12 www.NCIL.org/training/emergencyprepmaterials. 13 html. And when you go there, please just 14 under the heading, you will see the part one 15 evaluation form. It only takes a moment to 16 fill out and if you're participating in a 17 group, you can even fill it out as a group 18 and it might generate some good discussions 19 about improvements for the future. 20 For those of you joining us, thanks so 21 much and I look forward to seeing you on 22 Wednesday. Presenters, if you could hold 23 the line. Thank you. 24 25