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17 <br />17 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />which utilizes best practices customized for specific community and disability needs, such as <br />partnerships with community organizations. <br />Evacuation: Coordinated evacuation including disability community oversight was recommended. <br />Training for first responders, emergency and shelter personnel to include laws governing service <br />animals, comfort animals versus pets including questions they are not legally allowed to ask was <br />recommended to encourage more participation. It was suggested that people with medical needs or <br />disabilities should be enabled to use Zonehaven to request help. Evacuation plans should include <br />continuous access to power, medical devices and medicines including refrigeration for some medicines, <br />escorting those who need assistance to get to shelters. Multiple participants recommended coordinated <br />transportation solutions including free bus and paratransit evacuations and home pick-ups and/or <br />affordable paratransit, given current paratransit is inadequate to get people out in an emergency <br />situation. <br />Communication: Communication about hazards, especially power outages/PSPS and heat events, should <br />take place as far in advance as possible generally and to allow extra time needed for people with <br />disabilities and medical needs to prepare and coordinate assistance. Improve mechanisms for people to <br />learn about where shelters are during an emergency that addresses disability access, including for those <br />that can’t access the internet or phone system. Conduct a survey to find out how people with disabilities <br />obtain information and outreach and education with the disabled community about signing up for alerts <br />and disaster preparedness. Collaborate with relevant organizations to better communicate with people <br />with disabilities and medical needs. <br />Shelters (including Cooling/Clean Air centers) <br />There were many comments expressing concern about the availability of local shelters and cooling/clean <br />air centers, whether shelters would welcome or meet needs of socially vulnerable community members, <br />and desire to know where shelters and cooling centers would be and how to find out when and where <br />they are open. Recommendations included: <br /> Increase number of, open time and publicity for cooling centers. Community members want to <br />be able to access them more frequently (i.e. at lower temperatures and fewer days of heat), <br />more locally, and want to know under what conditions they open and who opens them. <br /> Provide clean air and cooling in shelters and cooling centers. A need for capacity to manage a <br />combination of hazards such as heat, smoke, power outage and COVID-19 was raised frequently. <br /> Desire for consistent definition / implementation of disability access to shelters and cooling / <br />clean air centers and training for staff. <br /> Desire for communication of policy that undocumented people will be welcomed by shelters, <br />cooling / clean air centers. <br /> Improving mechanisms for people to learn about where shelters are during an emergency that <br />addresses disability access, access for folks that can’t access the internet or phone system, and <br />which utilizes best practices customized for community needs, such as partnerships with trusted <br />community-based organizations, description of images for people who are visually impaired, <br />door to door outreach, etc. (See communications) <br /> Assure Shelter information and access is available to people who are monolingual in a language <br />other than English.