Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities by Thomas

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Being prepared for emergencies is often a harder task for people with disabilities. Most disabled people are low income and don’t have a lot of extra income to buy emergency supplies. It is still important to have an emergency kit with supplies to be prepared.

Here’s a list of emergency supplies to have on hand.

  • Extra week of mediations
  • First Aid Kit
  • Batteries and flashlights
  • Warm blankets and extra socks
  • Battery operated lights are often better and safer than candles
  • Back up Oxygen tanks with connector piece if you use oxygen
  • Having a battery operated portable nebulzier is always good to have on hand if you use a nebulzier.
  • Water, canned food and hand can opener, nutrition drinks, protein bars, cereal , hard candy, electrolyte drinks
  • If you have a pet or service animal make sure they have enough food
  • Battery operated radio
  • Make sure your phones are charged and if possible get back up battery pack have it charged as well.
  • Having a folder or envelope of emergency information about your health conditions or medications you take in case of emergency is important. Some people utilize the Blue Envelope Program. Some people also use Smart 911. Having information somewhere will help you in any situation where you might need it.

We know that it is hard to be prepared because every thing costs money. Sometimes it’s buying an extra few cans of food each month or extra pack of batteries.

I know I didn’t post any heat sources. A lot of landlords especially income based housing or rentals have rules against candles and space heaters. It’s important to read your lease to know what you can have in an emergency.

If you got a lot of blankets that will help. You can also put towels or blankets at bottom of your doors to help keep the heat in.

If you lose heat during a storm sometimes communities will open warming shelters to help people in need. Check out your local fire department or city websites for more information on warming centers.

Here are some resources about emergency preparedness to help you read more about it.

All around emergency preparedness is a big thing to do but having just a small box of items for any storm you encounter will help you stay safe.

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