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Have a Suggestion?
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Helping Older Adults Prepare for Disaster and Cope Afterward
As an aging services provider, you have a responsibility to help older adults in your service area prepare for a disaster. The American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have prepared a wealth of information to help you, including hardcopy and online brochures on a variety of topics.
But what are the realities? The reality in North Carolina is that most older adults will shelter in place. What does that mean for you? That means that they need to understand what they need to have on hand before the impending disaster strikes. This is especially true of the frail homebound older adults. It may be possible to convince some of the seniors to go to a shelter. This may be easier if the person has medical conditions and the caregiver can become involved.
Caregivers have an added burden of needing to plan for themselves and other family members in addition to the special considerations for an older frail family member. Special Needs Registries and Alerts may be particularly useful as a way to assist them. There are now automated alert systems, or the typical volunteer "telephone tree" system may be used. The American Red Cross advises that everyone prepare a Disaster Suitcase. But, in reality, there are probably not many folks in our area who will go to the trouble. They figure that for the type of disasters we usually encounter, they will have time to throw a few things together if needed or they will be able to buy what they need to stay at home - the old "clean out the grocery store" song and dance. Knowing this, helping them understand that they need to have enough supplies for a potential 4-5 days without power would be very useful. It would also be helpful to give them guidelines for how to decide whether to go or to stay.
Past disasters have shown us the need to be sure to encourage the blind and visually impaired and deaf and hearing impaired to have a prepared individual disaster plan that specifies family members and friends to help them. Closed captioning systems are very expensive and will not necessarily be available during and after disasters. Interpreters may not be available at regular shelters. Do you know if there will be resources at your local special needs shelters for those with visual impairment? If telephone service and media coverage are unavailable for the disabled, have you helped them prepare? And what happens if entire adult care facilities show up at the special needs shelter door? Have you considered how to handle the disabled - those deaf, blind, and mobility impaired in your community? Do you have a special needs registry so you know who these people are and what their needs may be? And, we all understand about people and their pets. Many older adults rely on their pets for companionship and love and they consider them family members. There is no way they would leave without taking the pet. However, shelters don't allow pets. How do you help older adults plan for the well-being of their pet if they need to evacuate?
Some older adults in our area will have livestock. The link above will address planning for their safety as well. So, the disaster occurs. You've helped the older adults in your county prepare. Now what? The Area Agency on Aging will be contacting you for information on the situation in your county. We will need to know what type of damage you have had, how many seniors have been impacted, and what type of assistance you need. Hopefully, you already participate in a countywide emergency assistance plan with various county government, non-profit, and volunteer agencies. That plan will probably have been initiated prior to the disaster. If not, if assistance is needed, it will go into effect immediately after the disaster. Go to the link below to understand the statewide process, who is in charge, and what the roles of the various players will be.
The Department of Homeland Security also offers online information for people needing to apply for disaster relief assistance such as tax breaks, loans, unemployment, etc. Remember, though, that after a disaster it may be the case that less people will have computer access. Knowing where there is wireless access in your area may be helpful for some. Additionally, the shelters usually have disaster relief workers who will help people fill out necessary paperwork to receive benefits. Helping seniors to understand that the benefits are there for them, that it is OK to apply for them and accept them, and to help walk them through the process is another way to help. Helping older adults who have sheltered in place understand that benefits are available and get to application gateways would be another way to assist.
Then, for those who have suffered great loss comes the emotional upheaval. Mental health counseling is often available at shelters. The reality in our area is that it will be difficult to convince seniors to accept counseling. Many grew up during a time when seeing a mental health professional was looked at as a weakness. There are ways you can help. Understanding the background of the feelings and the common reactions will help.
The good that can come from living through a disaster is that we see what type of problems occur, where there were gaps in assisting folks, and how the "system" could work more effectively. Take each opportunity to revise your emergency plan and to make plans for future disasters. Good luck!
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