Our Friends in the Lowcountry, with Hurricane Irma making its way up the Eastern Coast, our community needs to look ahead to ensure safety before the storm arrives. This is even more important for persons with disabilities who require additional support, resources or time to get to a safe location.
AccessAbility will continue to serve our community offering support in the coming week. We plan to open our offices during our usual office hours provided there is a safe environment for our staff, volunteers and consumers. However, because our staff resources will be reduced with mandatory evacuations, our services will be limited to emergency situation assistance until such restrictions have been lifted and we return to regular operating schedule in all offices.
Emergency Services include-
- Access for durable medical equipment (canes, walkers, wheelchairs, shower chairs, etc.) of items that were lost or damaged during the emergency. We encourage donations of durable medical equipment during this critical time and will have staff onsite given the operational status of our location after the storm.
- Advocating for the rights of individuals with disabilities in emergency shelters and beyond.
- Visit shelters to assess for needs of individuals with disabilities provide I&R, and connect to available resources
- Information and Referral—calls regarding emergency preparation and impact will take priority. Post storm, we will assist in completing any documentation or applications to agencies such as FEMA and American Red Cross.
CONTACT NUMBERS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS SHELTERS
Collaboration
We will work with other agencies to help provide the above services.
We will keep you updated on service availability through our Twitter and Facebook accounts. You can contact us via info@abilitysc.org We want to work to assure people are safe and have necessary resources, but please keep in mind the limitations that we may face depending on the level of impact in our areas.
In addition, we have compiled a list of online resources that can be used before, during and after Hurricane Irma strikes. Many of these resources are valuable for other disaster emergency situations. This page will be updated as new resources become available. Our Hearts and thoughts go out to everyone who is going to impacted and we know our communities will embrace and support one another through this event.
Basics to prepare for Hurricane Irma
General Preparation Information – http://ready.ga.gov/be-informed/hurricanes/
Prepare an Emergency Prep Kit – http://ready.ga.gov/build-a-kit/
Make a communication Plan – http://ready.ga.gov/make-a-plan/
Individuals with Disabilities – Think about more than just food and water resources
English
Español