The National Organization on Disability’s (N.O.D.) Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI) announces Special Needs Assessment for Katrina Evacuation (S.N.A.K.E.)

September 9, 2005

Recognizing that the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the special needs and disabled communities would be catastrophic, National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) Chairman and President Michael R. Deland immediately sought to gain access to the Gulf region to assess delivery of services and recovery efforts for the nearly 250,000 men, women, and children with disabilities living in the impacted area. It is the goal of N.O.D. to capture any immediate actionable issues and provide this information to officials coordinating the response and recovery efforts.

N.O.D. deployed Hilary Styron, Director of N.O.D.'s Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI) and four rapid assessment teams consisting of nationally recognized special needs emergency management practitioners into the Gulf region. N.O.D.'s Special Needs Assessment for Katrina Evacuation (SNAKE) teams will be one of the first outside groups ever allowed on disaster-impacted locations to assess these issues.

Upon deployment, the teams will quickly gather information about the impact and service delivery to individuals with disabilities, seniors, and medically managed persons. This is an extremely fast in and out operation with the singular goal of capturing systemic points of failure or immediate actionable correction to elevate suffering.

N.O.D./EPI has been monitoring the disaster from pre-event and now into the recovery operations and it appears that the disability and special needs communities were under-prepared. EPI has been in touch with several of the authorities within the affected region, as well with Federal entities in Washington, D.C. and there appears to be no singular coordinated special needs response.

Data gathered will include:

• information about the response efforts and how immediate gaps were filled
• information on long-term recovery efforts currently in place and how gaps that exist are being addressed
• information to support or disprove "stories" that emerge from the Special Needs community

Upon analysis of the collected data, all findings and action items will be documented for EPI to distribute to all Federal, state, and local authorities coordinating response and recovery efforts.
N.O.D. has contracted with Elizabeth Davis of EAD & Associates, LLC to lead this effort. Logistic and operational support will be provided by Steve Kuhr of Strategic Emergency Group, LLC.

N.O.D.'s EPI is currently providing outreach, awareness, and education via a grant with the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration. The approved grant includes a component for tracking special needs in disasters.
Additional information will be made available at www.nod.org/emergency

Contact Person:
Hilary Styron, Director
Emergency Preparedness Initiative
National Organization on Disability
910 16th Street, NW 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
Voice: 202-293-5960
TTY: 202-293-5968
Fax: 202-293-7999