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People with disabilities have unique considerations when it comes to emergencies and evacuations. There are many access and functional needs to consider, particularly relating to communication methods, transportation, sheltering, access to assistive devices, emergency social services, and transition back to the community. Post-disaster audits from disasters highlight the need to improve emergency services for persons with disabilities.
Emergency evacuations caused by severe weather are becoming more common, and an aging population means the number of people with disabilities will increase. 听What can governments, communities, and individuals do to better support persons with disabilities during emergencies? 听听
Research supported by Accessibility Standards Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
听(Halifax Examiner, November 2, 2022)听
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Katie Aubrecht
Katie Aubrecht, PhD,听is Canada Research Chair Tier II Health Equity and Social Justice and Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where she supervises students and teaches courses in the areas of mental health and society, disability and culture, race and identity, social theory, and social policy. Aubrecht鈥檚听research program, informed by sociology and disability studies, uses participatory and intersectional approaches and qualitative research methods to map and analyze marginalization, mental health and resilience across the life span as social justice issues. The overall purpose of this research is to generate new knowledge to enhance the care and self-perceived mental health and wellness of diverse people in rural communities. This program is supported by the Spatializing Care Lab, a participatory arts-informed health research and training infrastructure that bridges medical, social, and cultural approaches to care. Additional information is available at听
Steven Estey
Steven is the former National Coordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) whose motto is 鈥渁 voice of our own.鈥澨� He has worked and volunteered with CCD in many roles over the past three decades.听 Steven is also former Human Rights Officer at Disabled Peoples鈥� International (DPI) a Canadian based non-governmental organization that works globally to advance the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities.听听 听听
For more than 30 years Steven has worked with Disabled Peoples' Organizations, Human Rights Institutions, Governments, Intergovernmental Organizations and United Nations Agencies to advance disability rights.听 Over time he has gained wide experience in the areas of government relations, international cooperation, economic development, human rights and disability.听
