The damage done by Hurricane Katrina and
its storm surge, including the flooding of
New Orleans, made it the costliest and most
destructive natural disaster in this country’s
history. While the disaster significantly
affected each of the estimated million-plus
evacuees, Katrina evacuees with disabilities
faced additional challenges. In the rush to
evacuate, people with disabilities were often
forced to leave behind wheelchairs, walkers,
and other equipment. Those seeking shelter
in Tennessee faced separation from their
homes, caregivers, healthcare, and other
supports. However, the Tennessee disability
community moved quickly to address these
needs, ensuring that evacuees received the
supports they needed to continue to live
independently. The accounts of five service
providers–and the people they
helped- demonstrate the strength and unity
of the disability community’s response in
Tennessee.
Memphis’s Boling Center for Developmental
Disabilities (BCDD), a University Center for
Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
(UCEDD) administered by the University of
Tennessee Health Science Center, compiled
an extensive collection of hurricane-related
resources. These resources, available on
the BCDD Website, included information
about local shelter, healthcare, and aging
services, as well as links to local media outlets
and relief organizations. “Tips for First
Responders,” an 11-page field guide on how
to best assist persons with disabilities, was
also made available via the Boling Center
site. The provision of these resources exemplifies
the Center’s mission of supporting
children and adults with developmental disabilities
and their families.
Down the road from Memphis, a unique partnership
led to an “ unforgettable” experience
for evacuees in Jackson . Katrina Aid & Relief
for Evacuees (K.A.R.E)., a local disaster group
assisting FEMA and the American Red Cross,
was introduced to the Jackson Center for
Independent Living (JCIL) by the director of
the local Red Cross chapter. K.A.R.E. needed
an office from which to assist evacuees. JCIL
agreed to provide office space, and K.A.R.E.
referred individuals with disabilities to JCIL.
JCIL’s first referral involved a person who
uses a wheelchair who needed transportation
to a healthcare facility. JCIL arranged for
the evacuee’s transportation and also provided
the following: a toilet seat extension for a
person recovering from hip replacement, a
telephone alert strobe light for an evacuee
with hearing loss, a walker, and a set of forearm
crutches. The agency also referred an
evacuee with post-polio syndrome to a
physician who was able to assist him in
obtaining a power wheelchair, an item he
had not been able to obtain in Louisiana.
“ We were fortunate enough to be able to
provide assistance to all those referred to
us,” said Phillip Merrell, JCIL’s Coordinator for
Independent Living. “Thanks to the efforts of
K.A.R.E., the Red Cross, Jackson Transit
Authority, and JCIL, some of the evacuees
will never forget Jackson, Tennessee.”
It’s safe to say that 120 people (and one dog)
will never forget Tennessee, either. On
Thursday, September 1st, the Division of
Mental Retardation Services (DMRS) learned
that 80 staff and 40 service recipients of two
Louisiana agencies serving persons with
mental retardation had fled New Orleans and
were staying at Fall Creek Falls State Park
while looking for a home. Quickly, DMRS
went into action, exploring options for offering
assistance and dispatching an intake
team to the park that afternoon. It was
decided that Clover Bottom Developmental
Center was the best place for the agencies,
Crossroads of Louisiana, I n c. and Hood
Management Group, and the people they
were serving.
After preparations were complete, the
Louisiana evacuees arrived at Clover Bottom
on Tuesday, September 6th. The DMRS
guests are housed in several buildings, with
the gymnasium available for day programs.
While the plan calls for the Louisiana agencies
to remain self-sufficient, DMRS staff is
providing assistance, including arrangements
for transportation and relief staffing. “This is
a difficult time for our guests, having left
home, not knowing the status of their lives
there,” said DMRS Deputy Commissioner
Stephen H. Norris in a prepared statement.
“Everyone at DMRS will work together, ramping
up our efforts to make this the best possible
experience for them.” DMRS will likely
serve as hosts into 2006.
Some evacuees had difficulty finding
resources in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
In the days after the storm, Tennessee
Disability Pathfinder, a statewide, bilingual
information and referral service for the disability
community, received calls from evacuees
seeking information and access to servi
c e s. “Evacuees contacted us needing services
such as specialized equipment, especially
wheelchairs, adult day care, and special education
services,” said Carole Moore-Slater,
Pathfinder director. To assist evacuees, their
families, and service providers, Pathfinder
created a Web-based collection of resources
in the areas of emergency management, education,
employment, financial assistance,
healthcare, insurance, long-term care, shelter,
Social Security, transportation, and more.
The hurricane resources page enabled the
Pathfinder staff to organize the vast amounts
of information they were receiving in a way
that was accessible to themselves, professionals, and families.
The Memphis Emergency Management
Agency and The Tennessean agreed; emergency
management officials listed Pathfinder
as a resource in their daily briefings and the
Nashville-area newspaper included
Pathfinder in an article spotlighting local
efforts to assist hurricane evacuees.
Tennessee Disability Pathfinder is a prog
ram of the Tennessee Council on
Developmental Disabilities and the
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research
on Human Development, a University
Center for Excellence in Developmental
Disabilities (UCEDD).
Deana Claiborne, executive director of
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle
Tennessee (UCP), notes that within 24
hours of the evacuation of New Orleans,
she made contact with the New Orleans
UCP affiliate and initiated help for people
evacuating to Tennessee “The first evacuees
included one direct support professional
and a lady with Down syndrome
who was in her care. We provided emergency
financial assistance and information
about housing, employment options,
and resources in the Middle Tennessee
area,” said Ms. Claiborne. In addition to
providing durable medical equipment to
evacuees in Tennessee, the affiliate also
partnered with the Middle Tennessee
Medical Reserve Corps to send a truckload
of equipment to the hurricane ravaged
areas. Along with United Cerebral
Palsy of the Mid-South, the chapter established
a payroll deduction plan to allow
its employees to voluntarily deduct a portion
of their paycheck to help cover payroll
costs of the sister affiliate in New
Orleans. In a letter to her fellow UCP
Affiliate Executives, Ms. Claiborne wrote:
“100% of our employees have opted in to
help–and we all feel good about doing
this because we know the best way to
help people with disabilities in crisis is to
keep trained and knowledgeable professionals
in the field for the long haul.”
Through these efforts, UCP continued to
advance the independence, productivity
and full citizenship of people with disabilit
i e s, even in the face of natural disaster.
Tennessee’s disability community has
mobilized to assist with the response to
Hurricane Katrina. When confronted with
natural disaster, the people of Tennessee
rose to the challenge, making the long
recovery process just a bit easier for the
evacuees with disabilities who crossed
their paths.
Melissa Fortson is disability resource specialist
with Tennessee Disability Pathfinder at the
Vanderbilt Kennedy Family Outreach Center.