POINTS OF SERVICE (FOOD, WATER, FINANCIAL AID, ETC.)
Recommendations on how to make services accessible after a disaster:
- All service locations must be accessible with parking nearby and near accessible
transit.
- People with mobility impairments and many visually impaired people will likely need
assistance to transport food and 5-gallon water containers from distribution points to
their residences.
- Some disabled people may assistance to travel to and from points of emergency and
recovery services.
- Some disabled people may need assistance to wait in line at points of service.
- Avoid using outdoor areas that are muddy, sandy, or covered by thick grass.
- Permit people with mobility impairments the option of going to the head of long lines.
- Train staff to realize that some people have the physical ability to ride buses, but do not
have the cognitive ability to learn new routes established because of a disaster.
- Train staff to realize that some people with emotional or developmental disabilities may
be too unsettled by the disaster to return to their safe residences unless accompanied
by a counselor familiar with the particular disability. Train staff to know how to locate
resources for these counselors.
- Some people with mental retardation may need assistance understanding and filling
out emergency paperwork.
- Train staff to know that even normal amounts of background noise may prevent a
person with a hearing impairment from understanding spoken instructions and
directions.
- Forms and explanations for FEMA and other assistance should be available in braille,
large print, and on audio tape.
- Stock bicycle tire patch kits for use on wheelchair and scooters with flat tires.
- Train staff to know essential sign language signs.
- Realize that a Food Stamp application question such as "Do you buy and prepare your
own food?" yields a misleading answer when asked of disabled people who use
attendants.
- FEMA disaster centers need to have TDDs.
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