Disability and Communication Access Board
State of Hawaii
|
|
Emergency Preparedness E-News
for Individuals with Disabilities and Special Health Needs
August 2011 Issue 20
|
| Greetings!
Hope you have enjoyed your summer and have had time for a vacation! When I first began working for the State there was some "down time" during August. It is different now with the State getting back into a regular five-day a week work routine.
There has been a great deal of activity during July and August relating to emergency management and individuals with disabilities and other access and functional needs in Hawaii. Hopefully, this issue will highlight a few events that occurred since our last E-News.
The East Coast of the Mainland had first-hand experience this past weekend with Hurricane Irene impacting states on the Atlantic coast from the Carolinas through Maine. It makes a difference in our perspective and activities when a real life event occurs where we live to force us to use the emergency management skills we work with everyday. During the event, FEMA's Office of Disability Integration and Coordination had representatives to ensure individuals with disabilities and other access and functional needs were considered in all emergency evacuation efforts.
The Emergency Preparedness E-News is written to keep the community aware of issues and events related to emergency preparedness and individuals with disabilities and other access and functional needs. Please feel free to send DCAB information that you would like to have included in a future issue. We look forward to hearing from you. Aloha,Debbie JacksonPlanner |
FEMA Getting Real II Conference
 In July, FEMA's Office on Disability Integration and Coordination announced the "Getting Real II" Promising Practices in Inclusive Emergency Management Conference on September 12-14, 2011. The focus of this year's conference is on building partnerships and sharing promising practices. DCAB submitted an application and was selected as a presenter at the conference. Our presentation will be about Team Building and Emergency Management and People with Disabilities.
Members of the team include Melvin Kaku, Director of the City & County of Honolulu's Department of Emergency Management, Mojisola Owolabi, Acting Coordinator All Hazards Preparedness at the Department of Health, Dawn Skaggs, Principal Investigator of the Emergency Preparedness System of Support at the University of Hawaii's (UH) Center on Disability Studies, Yolanda Phelan, Board Member of the Hawaii Association of the Blind, and Debbie Jackson (conference presenter), Planner/ADA Coordinator at the Disability and Communication Access Board. The team will meet and plan the presentation for the conference and current efforts of the community in team building and collaboration in planning for emergencies and including individuals with disabilities.
Dawn Skaggs also applied and was selected as an individual speaker to discuss her grant at the UH Center on Disability Studies. Her project uses the "Feeling Safe, Being Safe" program developed in California and adapted for Hawaii. It is a peer-to-peer training program that trains individuals with intellectual disabilities to teach other individuals with disabilities how to prepare an evacuation plan and assemble an emergency preparedness kit.
Having two (2) presenters from Hawaii at a national conference is an acknowledgement of the work our community has done and continues to do to ensure individuals with disabilities and other access and functional needs are included in the planning process and know how to prepare in the event of an emergency.
|
New Civil Defense Manager on Kauai
 A July 13, 2011 news release from the County of Kauai announced that Col. (Ret.) Theodore "Teddy" Daligdig III was selected as manager of the Kauai Civil Defense Agency and began his duties on July 18, 2011. He replaced Kylan Dela Cruz who left his county position to pursue other interests. Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. reported that he looks forward to Teddy joining the team and that he has the skills, expertise and experience for his new position.
Mayor Carvalho acknowledged Mr. Dela Cruz for being an asset to the county while in the position and also when he served as Deputy Director of the Department of Public Works and Department of Parks and Recreation. Mr. Dela Cruz was enthusiastic when taking on all of his tasks and served the county well for four and a half years.
Mr. Daligdig is a retired colonel and island commander of the Kauai branch of the Hawaii Army National Guard (HIANG) with 38 years of service in active duty and the reserves. While in the military, he held various positions including HIANG island commander for recovery efforts after Hurricane Iniki and Deputy Chief of Staff at Ft. Shafter. Mr. Daligdig also worked as Director of education and health programs with the Hawaii State Department of Defense after he retired from the Hawaii Army National Guard.
On a personal level, he is married to Elaine "Queenie" Ah Puck Daligdig and has seven (7) sons and three (3) step-children. One of his sons had a spinal cord and brain injury and passed away as a young man from cancer. Because of his personal experience with having an offspring with a disability, he feels very strongly about including everyone in planning efforts and emergency evacuation. We congratulate him on his new position and look forward to working with him.
Information taken from the County of Kauai News Release. |
Feeling Safe, Being Safe Training
 | |
Left to Right: Maria Lutz, Kathleen Tabata, Jonelle Santos, Dawn Skaggs, and Bathy Fong
|
A Train-the-Trainer session of Feeling Safe, Being Safe (FSBS) was held on July 13, 2011 at Helemano Plantation in Wahiawa. The photo to the left shows the first certified FSBS trainers in Hawaii at the American Red Cross Office during a focus group last year. Two (2) of the trainers in the picture, Bathy Fong and Kathleen Tabata conducted parts of the July training for a group of approximately thirty (30) people.
Of the thirty (30) participants in the July training, there were individuals with disabilities, parents of individuals with disabilities and agency representatives of organizations serving individuals with disabilities. The training consisted of an excellent mix of lecture using PowerPoint presentations, videos, discussion, and activities. Homework was assigned to all participants who are interested in becoming certified FSBS trainers or facilitators. Everyone was instructed to complete their individual emergency plans, refrigerator magnets, and preparing emergency kits. Once all three (3) tasks are completed, the person should then contact the FSBS team at the Center on Disability Studies to check everything. If the participant passes "inspection" he/she becomes a certified FSBS trainer and can work with a facilitator to meet others in the community to coordinate and conduct emergency preparedness trainings.
The training is an effective means using peers to teach peers how to plan and prepare for emergencies. In addition, this program develops entrepreneurs and community resources from an existing untapped pool of individuals!
|
National Preparedness Month
September is National Preparedness Month (NPM) lead by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with the Citizens Corp. This year will be the eighth year of NPM. Each year NPM works with coalition members to increase awareness about emergency preparedness and sponsor activities nationwide. The Ready Campaign is designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies including natural and manmade disasters. The goal of the campaign is to get the public involved and increase the level of preparedness across the nation.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, so the theme of the 2011 NPM is "A Time to Remember: A Time to Prepare." These could mean remembering 9/11 or even those events as recent as the disasters in Alabama and Missouri earlier this year. Remembering the past enables the community to continue to work together during times of disaster and become stronger through rebuilding together.
For emergency preparedness to work well in the community, every person needs to be responsible to: (1) get an emergency preparedness kit, (2) make a family emergency plan, and (3) be informed of the different types of emergencies that could occur and the appropriate responses. The campaign has specific information for individuals, kids, families, pets, businesses, military families, senior citizens, and people with disabilities and other access and functional needs.
In the County of Kauai, events were held in August so there are no county sponsored activities during September. There are no county-sponsored events for the Big Island. And at the time of this writing, there was no information available about events in the County of Maui.
In the City and County of Honolulu, the following are a few events being publicized:
- 8/31/2011 Kokua: First Responders - Addressing Language Access Needs in Emergencies , UH East West Center (must be registered), all day event
- 8/27/2011 Waipahu Health and Wellness Fair, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
- 9/13/2011 North Shore Disaster Preparedness Town Hall Meeting with Representative Gil Riviere, Sunset Beach Elementary School, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
- 9/15/2011 Kailua Town Disaster Fair, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
- 9/16/2011 2011 Pacific Preparedness Conference (must be registered), all day event
- 9/24/2011 "Get Ready Ewa Beach" Emergency Preparedness Fair, Ewa Makai Middle School, 8:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
- 10/05/2011 Kaneohe Emergency Preparedness Fair, LDS 46-117 Halalani St. (Across from King Intermediate School), 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
To get an idea of what events are available, go to the Ready Campaign web site at www.Ready.gov and join the NPM coalition. Coalition members can review a calendar of events posted for various states or select a specific state it to get information about activities in that area. There are also promotional materials to download to provide ideas of events you can sponsor in your community for this year or to get started on an event for next year.
|
FEMA Language Guidelines
 FEMA released a Language Guide for Inclusive Emergency Preparedness, Response, Mitigation and Recovery on August 22, 2011. It expresses FEMA's commitment to work towards emergency management language and practices that are inclusive of people with disabilities, and recognizes the power language has in setting the stage for successful "whole community" efforts.
The document has a table offering "people-first" language as a guideline to use when referring to people with disabilities, and is set up with a column of "preferred" terminology and one with language to "avoid." It operates from the premise that language is powerful and influences how people think and behave. Using inclusive language is an important ingredient in achieving successful outcomes that benefit the whole community.
The document is available in word or print format. For a copy of the guidelines, feel free to contact DCAB and a copy will be made available to you. |
|
Contact Information
Disability and Communication Access Board
919 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: (808) 586-8121 (V/TTY)
Fax: (808) 586-8129
E-mail: DCAB General Delivery
Web site: DCAB Home Page County of Hawaii: 974-4000, ext. 6-8121# Couny of Kauai: 274-3141, ext. 6-8121# County of Maui: 984-2400, ext. 6-8121# Molokai & Lanai: 1-800-468-4644 , ext. 6-8121# |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
