Americans with disabilities are eager to participate in and contribute to emergency preparedness planning, National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) President Alan A. Reich told Office of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge.
Jan 2002
Americans with disabilities are eager
to participate in and contribute to emergency preparedness planning, National
Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) President Alan A. Reich told Office
of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge at a White House meeting in November.
Director Ridge referenced the meeting with Reich and N.O.D. Board Chairman
Michael R. Deland when he updated the nation on his office's work. The
Director publicly affirmed his commitment to work with this major segment
of the U.S. population.
"One of the challenges for the Office
of Homeland Security -- and it's a wonderful challenge -- is to integrate
all the Americans who want to help be part of homeland security into a
national strategy. And, to that end, ...the National Organization on Disability
visited the office," said Director Ridge. "Obviously, they've got some
unique and very special challenges that we'd have to deal with, but they
also have some very unique and, I think, probably helpful ideas and we
want to integrate them in the process of developing a national strategy."
"We are pleased that Director Ridge
is attuned to the concerns and needs of people with disabilities, and we
are committed to work with him and his office to ensure that people with
all types of disabilities are included in planning for and responding to
emergencies," said Reich. "The attacks of September 11 have had a profound
impact on the disability community. In addition to the feelings of grief
and loss shared by all Americans, we are facing many new concerns. How
can people with disabilities, their communities and workplaces prepare
for future disaster situations? What can we contribute to current relief
efforts?"
Immediately after the terrorist strikes
of Sept. 11 heightened the country's awareness of the need to be prepared
for future terrorist actions, as well as other man-made and natural disasters,
N.O.D. convened a Task Force representing leading disability organizations,
federal agencies and emergency response and disaster relief organizations.
That Task Force is pursuing the best ways to integrate America's 54 million
citizens with disabilities into the nation's emergency preparedness plans
at all levels - national, state and local.
The Task Force believes it is critical
that people with disabilities themselves participate in emergency preparedness
planning in order to ensure that the responses developed are appropriate
to them. Roughly a fifth of the population has a disability - 54 million
men, women and children - have a disability; since anyone can join this
community in an instant, everyone has a stake in including people with
disabilities in disaster planning. This means that all businesses, apartment
buildings, colleges and universities, government buildings, and other public
and private facilities and entire communities must make emergency planning
for people with disabilities a high priority within the framework of emergency
response. Successful plans will incorporate the valuable perspectives and
experience of people with disabilities.
Further information about emergency
preparedness for people with disabilities is available at N.O.D.'s website,
http://www.nod.org.
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