National Council on Disability on Hurricane Katrina Affected Areas

Basic Info

People with disabilities in the Gulf Coast areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are experiencing tremendous loss of life and devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Current data indicates that people with disabilities are now most at risk in this situation-and will need recovery assistance for months or years. A disproportionate number of the Hurricane survivors are people with disabilities whose needs for basic necessities are compounded by chronic health conditions and functional impairments.

For example: In Biloxi, Mississippi, a city of about 50,000 people, 26 percent of residents are people with disabilities. This means that there are 10,700 people with disabilities 5 years of age and older who live in Biloxi.

In Mobile, Alabama, a city of 198,915 people, 24 percent of the residents are people with disabilities. This means that there are 43,000 people with disabilities 5 years of age and older who live in Mobile.

In New Orleans, a city of about 484,000 people, 23.2 percent of residents are people with disabilities. This means that there are 102,122 people with disabilities 5 years of age and older who live in New Orleans.

Who are the 102,122 people with disabilities who live in New Orleans? About 10 percent (or 12,000) of them are people ages 5 to 20 years old; 61 percent (or 63,000) of them are aged 21 to 64 years old; and 29 percent (or 27,000) of the people are 65 years of age and older.

The 102,122 people with disabilities living in New Orleans include people who are blind, people who are deaf, people who use wheelchairs, canes, walkers, crutches, people with service animals, and people with mental health needs. At least half of the people with disabilities in New Orleans who are of working age are not employed. Many of the people rely on a variety of government programs such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid to help them meet their daily service and support needs.

Implications

The total destruction of the physical environment and public/private infrastructure and communications systems in the Gulf Coastal areas affected by Hurricane Katrina has life-threatening implications for all citizens with disabilities, and those without disabilities. The implications for these people include:

* for people with physical disabilities and who are over 65 years of age, being unable to leave their homes, group homes, nursing homes, hospitals without significant assistance;

* for all people with disabilities, being prevented from using any type of accessible public transportation which in all likelihood do not exist anymore;

* for people who are blind, being unable to even get around in their own flooded neighborhoods because they can no longer navigate the environmental landscape;

* for all people with disabilities driven by floods from institutions or group homes or nursing homes, needing to be housed in less than satisfactory conditions with considerably less than the necessary range of services and supports they need for an indeterminate amount of time;

* for people with disabilities who have service animals, are unable to rely on those animals outside of the house or group home because these animals cannot navigate safely in the flooded streets;

* for people who are deaf, being challenged to access emergency information through television, radio, TTY, etc. because public communications systems are somewhat compromised;

* for all people with disabilities, being unable to secure life-saving food and water because many of them are trapped within the confines of inadequate supplied shelters, stadiums, etc.; and

* people may have lost or become separated from the drugs they rely on daily for diabetes, heart disease and other chronic ailments. Pharmacies in the affected areas may have insufficient stocks of vital drugs like insulin for diabetics, creating a need to organize efforts to import and distribute essential medicines in the area. In addition, many pharmacies have been raided by looters.

Where to go for help?

People with disabilities affected by Hurricane Katrina should try to contact their local emergency response officials by using the 9-1-1 system. This system will handle voice and TTY callers.

Louisiana government officials advise that in addition to the existing special needs shelters that have opened in Alexandria and Monroe, shelters have been opened in two other communities in Louisiana. These shelters are staffed by the Department of Health and Hospitals and Department of Social Services. While these shelters are open it is strongly encouraged that citizens first try to evacuate to the north with their families and get out of harm's way. These are shelters of last resort and are not for the general public.

At 10:00 am this morning, an additional shelter was opened in Lafayette. At this time, special needs shelters have been opened in Alexandria, Monroe, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge. Due to the uncertainty of the damage that Baton Rouge and Lafayette will sustain from the storm, DHH officials stress that it is very important to move to a shelter further north in Alexandria or Monroe if at all possible.

Special Needs Shelters are designed for individuals who are homebound, chronically ill or who have disabilities and are in need of medical or nursing care, and have no other place to receive care.

Those seeking shelter will be screened by nurses to determine the level of care needed. Only people who meet admission criteria can be sheltered. If their condition is too critical, they will be referred to a hospital for sheltering, or admission. If their condition is not severe enough for Special Needs Sheltering, they will be referred to a general shelter.

Special triage telephone lines are being established in each region to accept the calls of citizens seeking special needs sheltering. Citizens with special needs seeking shelter must call telephone number in their area BEFORE attempting to access a shelter. These numbers are listed below.

Alexandria: 800-841-5778	Lake Charles: 866-280-2711
Baton Rouge: 800-349-1372	Monroe: 866-280-7287
Houma/Thibodaux: 800-228-9409	Shreveport: 800-841-5776
Lafayette: 800-901-3210	Slidell/Hammond: 866-280-7724

Special Needs Shelters are not designed for the general public or for nursing home patients. Nursing homes in Louisiana are required to have emergency evacuation plans in place that ensure the health and safety of their residents. In most instances, these plans allow for homes in affected areas to transport their patients to nursing homes in areas safe from the storm.

Health officials note that if individuals have health problems that require medical expertise and must evacuate, it is best for them to go with family members or caretakers north and west to areas that are out of harm's way. These will provide medical support services only. Because of limited staffing, those going to a Special Needs Shelter must have a caretaker to assist with ongoing support and they should bring all necessary supplies including sheets, blankets and pillows.

Community And Residential Services Association (CARSA), a trade organization for providers of services with developmental disabilities, in cooperation with the ARC of Louisiana, the Developmental Disabilities Council and The Advocacy Center, is available to assist families who may have relatives who were evacuated from community homes and other service programs in the Greater New Orleans area.

Families seeking information may call the following numbers for assistance:

CARSA - 225-343-8811	The ARC of Louisiana - 1-866-966-6261
Developmental Disabilities Council - 1-800-450-8108	The Advocacy Center (Baton Rouge) 1-800-711-1696
The Advocacy Center (Lafayette) - 1-800-822-0210