In June 2015, the Digicel Foundation embarked on the first cycle of this much needed project- ?Preparing You?. This disaster preparedness project focused on and targeted persons with special needs i.e. persons with intellectual disabilities. The target groups were recruited from schools, homes and institutions that cater to persons with special needs. Approximately two hundred and fifty (250) persons benefited from this nine-month intervention which was successful in effecting a number of changes regarding disaster planning for persons with special needs.
As a nation prone to tropical and natural disasters, one of the priority items on the national agenda (policies and plans) is managing and preparing citizens to respond and cope in the event of an emergency. However, this agenda while providing for persons with physical disabilities (and an appreciation that senior citizens and orphaned children may fall into this category) excluded those with intellectual disabilities, namely individuals with mild to severe, chronic disabilities attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments.
The official body charged with emergency management - The Office of Preparedness and Disaster Management (ODPM) was a major partner in implementing year one of ?Preparing You?. As a result, major shifts in disaster management planning for persons with special needs have occurred. The ODPM in acknowledging its limitations has expanded their definition of ?persons with special needs? to include a wider range including persons with intellectual disabilities. We count this as a major success factor for ?Preparing You? as the considerations brought forward by this project has spurred the ODPM to amend their previous planning hand-book which is now more tailored to teachers and care givers of persons with special needs and includes:
? More recent information for care of persons with special needs
? Disaster planning templates and checklists
? Specific mitigation instructions for each disability
? Instructional actions for each stage of the disaster management cycle
?Preparing You? Year I sought to shed light on this issue and to include this marginalized segment of the population. Early feedback from the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service, the Ministry of Local Government and the project participants indicates that more work is needed in this area.
Although there were a number of successes arising out of the pilot project, additional work is required to ensure the issue of disaster preparedness for persons with special needs is fully addressed.