9/11 Remembrance: NEVER AGAIN Will We Be Left Out of Disaster Planning


9-11-memorial-museum

On this 14th anniversary of that horrible day when our world turned upside down, I humbly ask that you remember in your thoughts and prayers the 200 people with disabilities who perished in the terror attacks on the World Trade Center. Had emergency managers included our community in their disaster planning, it’s certain that many, if not all, of those 200 might have survived.

When we see posts about 9/11 that are tagged with “Never Again,”let us respectfully murmur those words to honor the ones who were told to wait for help that never came, or came too late. Then let us shout them out loud,”NEVER AGAIN!” as a call to action for our community, to demand our seat at the disaster planning table. One more life lost is one too many.

Portlight Strategies is a grassroots non-profit organization founded by and for people with disabilities. Since 2002, we’ve responded to our community in times of disaster, filling a documented void in relief and recovery services. We provide water, non-perishable food and other supplies immediately after disaster strikes, and replace lost or damaged durable medical equipment and other aids to accessibility and independent living.

The need to provide an environment in which the disability community can bring its perspective to emergency managers, disaster planners and first responders has become a primary focus for Portlight, and one that we’re successfully addressing through our Getting It Right series of conferences and workshops. In this cooperative atmosphere, awareness is increased, problems are identified, dialogues are begun, and a path is opened to finding workable, easily-implemented solutions for accessible disaster transportation, shelter and recovery services. An unanticipated, but hugely significant manifestation of these events has been the heightened awareness of the need to take full responsibility for our own disaster preparedness, in the form of making and maintaining a detailed personal disaster plan.

Time and time again, we’ve seen the harmful, often deadly results when emergency managers fail to plan inclusively. We believe that as disability stakeholders take our rightful place in disaster planning and preparedness, and as emergency managers continue to learn from and plan with us, rather than for us, the whole community will be better served. Most importantly, lives will be saved.

Shari Myers is the director of operations for Portlight Strategies, which provides direct relief to people with disabilities struck by disaster and also trains people with disabilities, emergency managers and many others on how to address accessibility in emergency plans.


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