1. Project EUNAD: Assisting Disabled in Case of Disaster (European Network for Psychosocial Crisis Management – Assisting Disabled in Case of Disaster) S. Vymetal 1, H. Boukalova 1, S. Hoskovcova 1, R. Bering 2, K. Cummings 2, A. Elklit 3, T. Heir 4, C. Schedlich 5 (1) Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic (2) Center for Psychotraumatology, Alexianer, Krefeld, Germany (3) University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, (4) Norwegian Center of Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway, (5) Federal office of civil protection and disaster assistance, Bonn, Germany Support of the project: The European Commission, department: The Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, no. of the project: ECHO/SUB/2012/640917

2. Project partners Coordinator:  Center of Psychotraumatology, Alexianer, Krefeld, Germany Partners:  Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic  Federal office of civil protection and disaster assistance, Bonn, Germany  Norwegian Center of Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway  University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

3. Cooperating organisations Support of the project:  Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic  German Association for Rehabilitation  Israel Trauma Coalition  Spanish Society of Psychotraumatology, Traumatic Stress and Dissociation  University of Oslo - Medical Faculty  Local organisations focused on the support of the target groups

4. Key question How to integrate psychosocial support of people with visual or hearing impairment in disaster management?  The project aims at:  standardization of psychosocial aftercare in case of disasters  development of an European network based on current findings in psychotraumatology.

5. Tasks Research – Two qualitative studies on people with visual or hearing impairment – Analysis of literature – Analysis of relevant national and EU projects  Expert Input meeting (Israel 02/2013)‏  Local networking associations of people with visual and hearing impairment (2013)‏  Local Workshops 2013 (GER, CZ, DK, NOR)‏  2 European expert conferences (Prague 10/2013, Cologne 2014)‏  EUNAD recommendations/ EUNAD taskforce  Pilot training (GER, CZ, DK, NOR)‏

6. 6 Crisis preparedness 1 Major gaps (disconnects) between planners, crisis managers, responders and people with hearing or visual disability – for example not existing lists of psychologists, who know sign language 2 Specific norms for the employers to create an emergency plan for the employees with disability. Specific trainings for groups with visually or hearing impairment or other disabilities (e.g. in schools, workplaces, communities) 3 Specific crisis management plans for the transient places (schools, stores, restaurants, trains and others) with respect for the people with hearing/visual disability 4 Including people with disability to disaster drills, trainings, simulations of first responders 5 Advantages, disadvantages, and unintended consequences of developing segregated versus unsegregated sheltering systems or evacuation centers 6 Other recommendation - on-call (on-line) service of sign language interpreter should be available in all life situations (currently, service of language interpreter is not accessible well in most of countries).

7. 7 Networking 1 Contact and cooperation between the rescue workers and the organizations of people with disabilities. 2 Efficiency of community based „special needs“ registries. Advantages, disadvantages, and unintended consequences.

8. 8 Communication 1 Crucial points in the first moment communication at the first moments of the disaster. 2 First response mechanisms in the crisis situation. 3 Crisis situations – specific types of disasters – during which the current ways of crisis communication (technical solutions) would be threatened. 4 Specific communication needs for the different groups of people with disabilities (People with prelingual hearing loss, people who lose hearing during their life, persons with partially sighted/with low vision or people with blindness)

9. 9 Training 1 Trainings have to include people with impairment. Also, basic knowledge of the sign language in general population is needed. 2 Regarding trainings, the most important thing is to train disabled persons. 3 Responders should undertake field exercise, community groups could have discussion sessions to include cross section of community and debate about roles and responsibilities during a crisis.

10. 10 Other recommendations 1 Good campaign could include better psychological education at school and inclusions in schools. Reddit and Youtube could be also used to reach children. 2 Very good way to inform the general population is to promote communication and interaction between this population and disabled persons and help general population to experience what it is like to be disabled. 3 Problems with terms. There is a term first responder, elsewhere the term zero responder is used (it may be a slang expression referring to non-professionals who help before the arrival of first responders). 4 There is a need of a psychologists who are able to offer a therapy directly in sign language.

11. Pilot training Task: Different vocational groups, such as mental health professionals, fire brigades, police, social workers and officials responsible for disability management will be trained in basic psychotraumatology, and EUNAD recommendations with special attention to people with visual or hearing impairment. Expected result: Material and training evaluations of the pilot trainings will be delivered. A report describes the integration of the pan-European experience in the pilot trainings to end users and networks of associations of disabled

12. 12 Source www.mvcr.cz/eunadwww.mvcr.cz/eunad