NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Dr. Carl T. Cameron, 202.338.7158 x 201

            ctcameron@disabilitypreparedness.org

Inclusive Preparedness: A National Train the Trainer Model for Organizations Serving People with Disabilities ands Other Special Needs

 October 14, 2005, Washington DC – The Disability Preparedness Center was awarded a Competitive Training Grant by the Department of Homeland Security, Office of State and Local Government Cooperation and Preparedness, to develop a training tool aimed at providing community groups and individual citizens with the necessary skills and self-reliance to prepare for, respond to and recover from an Incident of National Significance. 

Major activities that will be undertaken include:

•      Training staff in organizations serving people with disabilities and other special needs; and

•      Providing information and education to emergency responders and planners

 The training curriculum will be pilot tested in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, and then made available throughout the United States by disability organizations such as the American Association of People with Disabilities, National Association of the Deaf, National Association of the Mentally Ill, National Capitol Region Disability Preparedness Initiative, National Centers for Independent Living, National Council on the Aging, National Head Injury Association, National Organization on Disabilities, National Spinal Cord Injury Association, State of Maryland Disability Preparedness Initiative (Maryland Department of Disabilities), State of Delaware Special Needs Preparedness Initiative, and The Arc of the United States.

 A Harris Interactive survey published in January 2004 indicates that “more than two years after the terrorist attacks focused national attention on the importance of planning ahead for disasters, Americans with disabilities remain insufficiently prepared and are anxious about their safety.”

 “Emergency preparedness planning too often gives inadequate attention to people with disabilities and other special needs, despite the good intentions of first responders, planners and responsible public officials.  Hurricane Katrina has shown us that much more needs to be done to ensure the safety of people with special needs,” according to Dr. Carl T. Cameron, president of the not-for profit Disability Preparedness Center (www.disabilitypreparedness.org).

 Many of the estimated 50 million people in the United States who have a disability, and others with special needs that put them at increased risk in the event of a disaster, require specialized planning and supports.  “Many people with disabilities and other special needs will be more vulnerable than other citizens in an emergency,” Dr. Cameron said. “For plans to be effective, persons with disabilities need to be included in the planning process.  By bringing people with disabilities into the planning process, we can all learn how to be better prepared, and as a result feel less anxious and more empowered.”

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Carl T. Cameron, Ph.D. is president of the Disability Preparedness Center in Washington DC, a not-for-profit organization focused on helping ensure that all individuals are included in the development of plans for protection from both natural and man-made emergencies.