FWD: RSDHope-National Council on Disability

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From: byrd45 (Original Message) Sent: 9/30/2005 8:47 AM
Request for Information about the Experiences of People with Disabilities Affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

The National Council on Disability (NCD) (www.ncd.gov), an independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress on issues affecting the 54 million Americans with disabilities, is gathering information on how Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected people with disabilities and their relatives, friends, and neighbors, and how they have affected organizations that have been providing assistance to people with disabilities. Please take a few moments to share your experiences and consider the questions at the end of this document as guidance for your response.

The following questions can be used as guidance in your response to NCD's request for information. Please send your information to NCD in one of three ways: email (info@ncd.gov), U.S. mail (National Council on Disability, 1331 F Street NW, Suite 850, Washington, DC 20004) or fax
(202-272-2022) by October 12, 2005. Please indicate whether you would like to make your response anonymous.



1. How were people with disabilities provided with information about
the severity of the emergency caused by the hurricanes, how to prepare for it, and how to evacuate?



2. Was individual assistance (such as personal attendants, sign
language interpreters, readers, and service animals) available to people with disabilities during and after the emergency?



3. What assistive devices (such as wheelchairs, walkers, canes,
crutches, speech enabled or Braille notetakers, pagers, closed captioning, TTYs, hearing aids, and batteries) were people with disabilities able to keep with them during or after the hurricane? What assistive devices were they not able to keep? How were these assistive devices replaced?



4. What accessible temporary housing or shelter was offered to
people with disabilities?



5. What accessible transportation was provided to people with
disabilities when evacuating the hurricanes, receiving food and water, and reaching temporary shelters or housing? Were people who use assistive devices able to keep them during such transport?



6. What medical and mental health treatment, such as emergency care,
counseling or medication, was offered to people with disabilities? What
types of accessibility problems arose?



7. What schools offered accommodations to students with disabilities
affected or dislocated as a result of the hurricanes?



8. What types of temporary or permanent employment opportunities
were offered to people with disabilities?



9. What government services (such as Social Security, Medicare,
Medicaid, subsidized housing, food vouchers, or any other government
assistance) were, and continue to be, made available to people with
disabilities?


10. Describe the immediate, short-term, and long-term aid provided by
private, civic, faith-based, advocacy organizations or other groups to
people with disabilities.



Mark S. Quigley
Director of Communications
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
202-272-2008