1. Disability Inclusive Disaster Preparedness in NSW: Enabling Local Community Resilience through Collaboration Funded by the NSW Government under the Community Resilience Innovation Program
Introduce project and self
Funded by the NSW Government under the Community Resilience Innovation Program
Audience:
Vast majority local Council - Emergency Management Officers, Community Development, Aged Care, not for profits, State Gov, Health Vic
Important messages re outreach, partnering and connecting with people
Like practical advice they can start to use – what works
Case illustrations good showing best practice
Image artwork copyright Helen Cooke, an artist supported by Sunshine's Community Access Program Art Studio.

2. Disability and Natural Disasters
Disability and Disasters
The World Report on Disability (2011) finds 15% to 20% of the world’s population living with disability.
Figures from the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011) in Miyagi prefecture indicate a general mortality rate of 0.8%. For persons with disabilities the mortality rate jumped to 3.5% (more than 4 time higher). Following the Haiti earthquake (2010) an estimated 200,000 people were left living with disability. (UNESCAP, 2012).
Individuals with disability are more likely to be socially isolated and have nobody to turn to in times of emergencies.
Risk is further increased due to a fragmented system where responsibility to address the unique needs and capabilities of people with disabilities in disasters is unclear.
In disasters, many people with disabilities rely on the support from Community Services Organisations (CSOs), Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs), Local Government Areas (LGAs) and local businesses. Yet these organisations have limited experience in emergency preparedness, and might have unrealistic expectations on the help that Emergency Management Agencies would be able to provide 1 2
1WHO, 2011
2Miyagi Prefecture, 2012

3. Our study locations
In a recent study by Sewell and others (including Dale), data from the NSW government on disaster declarations by LGAs between 2004 and 2014 was collated and mapped.
The left hand maps show totally number of declared disasters (all types combined) in each LGA over that 10 year period and highlighted LGAs are the most disadvantaged
Maps on right show statistically significantly clustering of natural disasters by type (and combined). SIGNIFICANTLY, there’s a major ‘hotspot’ of clustered disasters in the NE of NSW that coincides with some of the most disadvantaged LGAs in NSW
These are important areas to work in
Sewell et al., (In press). Nature Scientific Reports

4. Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DIDRR)
Analysis of the data used the Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction framework
DIDRR is a new approach to DRR, that is is based on all DRR practice but it integrates the following principles:
• Participation - persons with disabilities must be active participants in planning, implementation and monitoring of DRR actions.. Therefore barriers to active participation have to be removed and capacity building programs enhanced.
• Comprehensive accessibility and universal design are important concepts that should be incorporated in all phases of emergency management.
• Non-discrimination should underpin all policies in emergencies management, and require a proactive approach aiming at identifying and removing exclusion factors, which prevent persons with disabilities from accessing relief services and programs on peace and conflict mitigation.
• Coordination and collaboration
Disaster and conflict management involve a large variety of stakeholders that all need to coordinate their efforts to ensure that disability is included in their projects as a core-crosscutting theme.
(Centre for Disability Research & Policy & Hazards Research Group, 2017)

5. Shift in paradigm to empowerment
Victims
Vulnerable
Trained & able
Active participation & Meaningful contribution
Images:
NOTE THAT THIS HAS PRIMARILY BEEN APPLIED TO DISASTER RISK REDUCTION PHASE – BUT IF WE ARE GOING TO BUILD COMMUNITY RESILIENCE INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WE HAVE TO DO SO THROUGH ALL PHASES INCLUDING
RESPONSE
EVACUATION
RESTORATION
LONGER TERM
THE MORE WE BUILD COMMUNITY RESILIENCE WHICH IS DISABILITY INCLUSIVE THE LESS CHALLENGES THERE WILL BE IN PROVIDING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES APPROPRIATELY IN ALL PHASES
BASED ON THE NATIONAL APPROACH TO DISABILITY AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION WORKING TOGETHER REDUCES VULNERABILITY
Images:

6. Collaboration Method Phase 1 Local Information Workshops Phase 2
Local Emergency Preparedness
Workshops
COMMUNITY committed to building community resilience
COMMUNITY Prioritised risk reduction activities
Additional third phase
Community outreach
STRENGTHS AND BARRIERS TO BUILDING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Review of Organisational Preparedness Tool (ACOSS, Resilient Community Organisations
Review of individual self assessment for Emergency Preparedness Tool
(ISAT-EP)
All phases fed into each other:
Responding to barriers to participation
Taking learnings from community members at each phase to help guide following activities
Additional community outreach included:
Focus groups – to ensure voices of people with disability were included,
Face-to-face meetings with stakeholders –the Project Manager individually met with those unable to attend typically at their office location to share information about the workshop, as well as to seek feedback on the individual and organisational self assessment tools;
Telephone follow up – the Project Manager sought feedback from participants who were unable to meet face-to-face. Data (with consent) was collected from these conversations;
Project resources (such as first workshop report, newsletters, ISAT-EP for review etc) were also shared via and post. E.g resources sent to a famly member of a participant from the first workshop and followed up by interview early in This approach ensured the family still had the opportunity to engage with and contribute to the project;
Contributions from the project’s Advisory Panel Panel members offered to act as conduits sharing information about the project through their networks to encourage participation;
Providing opportunities for networking between stakeholders. E.g linked MDAA NSW with Northern Settlement Services  who have developed preparedness resources for CALD
communities available at 
Attendance at community events – e.g Deaf Festival held in October 2016, PDCN I’m Okay website launch; MDAA AGM

7. Photographs from third phase community outreach
IMPORTANT MESSAGE – WE WENT TO AND WERE INVOLVED IN COMMUNITIES. NOT JUST HOLDING A WORKSHOP IN THEIR AREA BUT TAKING TIME TO CONNECT IN COMMUNITY
Top left – attendance at the Deaf Festival October 2016
Centre – Prof. Gwynnyth Llewellyn walks around and meets with Taree organisations
Bottom right – Hayley attends MDAA NSW Board meeting to discuss project

8. Outcome of collaboration
At the end of process together we were able to develop Local Emergency Management Guidelines for Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction and accompanying video.
Includes for example practical tips and considerations that came from people with disability and organisations supporting people.

9. Key Messages Starting point Community engagement Structural barriers
No distinct starting point
Take a first step bringing people together
Starting point
Develop local knowledge about
Natural disaster risk AND
Local community strengths, challenges and resources
Community engagement
Structural barriers compromise participation
Leverage local capacity to remove or work around structural barriers
Structural barriers
Starting point
There is no one distinct starting point for local community engagement in DIDRR
There are tools that assist emergency managers and disability support providers to get started at any point in the process
Community engagement
Community engagement and resilience begins when emergency managers, people with disability, and disability support providers learn and work together
Developing local knowledge about natural disaster risk AND local community strengths, challenges and resources is an important step in learning and working together
Structural barriers
Structural barriers compromise participation of people with disability in emergency preparedness for natural disasters
Agile systems of partnership require emergency managers to engage diverse networks and leverage local capacity to remove or work around the structural barriers
Emergency managers need support and resources to engage local networks and carry out DIDRR activities effectively

10. Developing disability inclusive capacity
What networking opportunities are there for shared learning about DIDRR between community (including people with disability) and the emergency management sector?
Do structural barriers exist for this to occur?
Requires ongoing commitment
Important of acknowledging and utilising the knowledge and expertise from within both the emergency management and disability/community sectors.
Community Service Organisations (CSOs), and Disability Support Organisations (DSOs), have in-depth knowledge about people with disability in their community and they have established networks of trust and support;
Structural barriers
In the project we observed:
Examples
Roles and responsibilities of Emergency Managers – commitment to responding to emergencies
Disability Sector – busy workloads where organisations are transitioning to the NDIS acted as a barrier

11. Developing networking for coordinated planning for DIDRR
Bringing Emergency Managers and people from community including people with disability together to discuss their different points of view 
Connecting on the same level in a on topic of common interest
Hearing other’s perspectives
“I didn’t think of that before”.  
Observed and told during workshops and also from post workshop feedback
Bring people together from emergency management and disability sectors to share information and build capacity and organisational networks for coordinated planning for DIDRR
ongoing commitment.
initiatives were discussed as needing to be continuous, revisiting and sharing within the community regularly.
Preparedness initiatives could not just be a “one off”;
“Having a Local Council Emergency Plan doesn’t mean that all in the community know what to do,” it is important that awareness initiatives happen as well;
Action Over Talk
Importance of turning intentions into actions. As one CSO stated, “It’s good to consult but some feel over-consulted – people want action rather than talk”;
Participants told us they wanted ‘Action not just talk’. Some community members feel over consulted but do not see action
Which voices are not present? How can you include them?
inclusion was discussed as particularly important for those who are socially isolated members of the community. CALD communities
Photograph of participants at Taree workshop 11 October 2016

12. Provide comprehensive information in accessible formats
“lack of accessible information is our biggest barrier” A key to preparedness is “having access to information and feeling empowered when we do”.
Accessible information was identified as one of the biggest barriers for people with disability.
Example of participant with disability coming away from the workshop. He had raised awareness about not being able to access his scripts. After leaving the workshop he went to his local GP to speak about this. Together they made a plan to develop an online My Health Record.
Attending workshops spoke about fear of dark and then having a flash light as part of his plan.
Tips to have accessible information
Refer to Web Content Accessiblity Guidelines
Peak representative organisations contracted to review content for accessibility
If people with disability are attending events/workshops. Ask them if they have any requests to assist their participation

13. Provide self-assessment tools and resources
Provide information and tools so people can self-assess their knowledge about the following:
the local natural disaster context
their capabilities
their support needs
their support network and how they will plan and act together in the event of a natural disaster
Focus on importance of Knowing Local context risks together with self assessment of strengths, capabilities and areas you may need assistance.
Observed by participant in the project. Individual with disability engaged in his own self assessment identified gaps and risks to his preparedness. Took this knowledge working with his support worker, to plan what he could do to become prepared. Also used this in the context of his National Disability Insurance Scheme Planning,.

14. Local Emergency Management Guidelines for Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction in NSW
Can be accessed on our project website
Or contact:
Hayley Brooks, Project Manager
Contact details to receive downloadable electronic copy of the guidelines

15. Any questions?
Image from:Microsoft clip art

16. Keep up to date with the project on social media
@PWD_DRR
Figure 2 - Find us on Facebook logo
Figure 3 follow us on twitter logo