Come Hell or High Water: Improving Emergency Response for People with Disabilities

People with disabilities have unique considerations when it comes to emergencies and evacuations. There are many access and functional needs to consider, particularly relating to communication methods, transportation, sheltering, access to assistive devices, emergency social services, and transition back to the community. Post-disaster audits from disasters highlight the need to improve emergency services for persons with disabilities.
Emergency evacuations caused by severe weather are becoming more common, and an aging population means the number of people with disabilities will increase. What can governments, communities, and individuals do to better support persons with disabilities during emergencies?
Research supported by Accessibility Standards Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Speakers:
Steven Estey - the former National Coordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) whose motto is “a voice of our own.” He has worked and volunteered with CCD in many roles over the past three decades. Steven is also former Human Rights Officer at Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) a Canadian based non-governmental organization that works globally to advance the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Donalda MacIsaac - a dedicated, full-time healthcare and social change advocate for her entire adult life and has served in a variety of roles in local, provincial, and national organizations. Donalda serves as a Family Patient Advisor for Dalhousie Family Medicine, and for various Nova Scotia Health committees.
Kaitlynne Lowe - Action Canada Fellow (’21) and a graduate of the Masters of Public Administration Program (2019) at Dalhousie University. She has spent the past four years conducting research work at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance. Her work has focused on accessibility issues in Canada’s emergency management response to improve the experience of persons with disabilities.
Click here to access the slide deck for Communication & Alert: cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhou...
0:00 Intro
2:50 Steven Estey
10:09 Donalda MacIsaac
17:29 Kaitlynne Lowe
30:30 Q&A/Discussion