- Minorities
- Foreign Languages
- Elders
- Persons with Disabilities
African American Community Mental Health Fact Sheet
This 2-page fact sheet is from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It offers information such as, “African Americans in the United States are less likely to receive diagnoses and treatments for their mental illnesses than Caucasian Americans. Culture biases against mental health professionals and health care professionals in general pre- vent many African Americans from accessing care due to prior experiences with historical misdiagnoses, inadequate treatment, and a lack of cultural understanding; only 2% of psychiatrists, 2% of psychologists and 4% of social workers in the U.S. are African American.”
Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Communities Mental Health Fact Sheet
This 2-page fact sheet is from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It was written to address mental health issues specifically for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities.
Asian American Community Mental Health Fact Sheet
This 2-page fact sheet is from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The opening lines of this fact sheet are as follows: “Cultural differences influence the experience of mental illness and the reaction to its onset and treatment. The body and mind are more closely linked in many Asian cultures than in Western cultural philosophies. As such, the experience of mental illness and desired modes of treatment may differ with the Asian culture.”
Why Should African American Churches Care About Mental Illness
This 1-page fact sheet is from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The opening paragraph of this fact sheet is as follows: “The African American church should care about mental illness because these diseases affect many of our members and their families. Without proper treatment, the lives of our brothers and sisters are disturbed and hindered. The results have a direct effect upon the church and its ability to carry out its mission.”
Preparing for Disaster for Persons with Disabilities in Spanish
This 13-page booklet from the American Red Cross and FEMA is the Spanish version of the booklet, “Preparing for Disasters for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs.”
Caring for Someone with Dementia in a Disaster
This 3-page brochure from FEMA is called, “Caring for Someone with Dementia in a Disaster.” It offers tips on advanced preparations, as well as helpful tips to keep in mind if you are relocated.
CDC’s Disaster Planning Goal - Protect Vulnerable Older Adults
This 17-page paper is the, “CDC’s Disaster Planning Goal - Protect Vulnerable Older Adults.” As is stated in the opening paragraph of this paper, “Disasters of all kinds affect older adults disproportionately, especially those with chronic diseases, disabilities or conditions that require extra assistance to leave an unsafe area and recover from an event. For this reason, emergency managers need to recognize that the frail elderly are a special-needs population and develop strategies to meet their needs. The term “frail elderly” refers to older adults who have serious, chronic health problems that could make them more vulnerable during disasters [Fernandez, 2002]. Disasters come in many forms, including severe weather-related events, earthquakes, large-scale attacks on civilian populations, technological catastrophes, and influenza pandemics.”
Keeping a Written Health History
This 5-page brochure from the AARP points out that, “Keeping a written health history can improve the health care you get and help you stay well. It serves as a memory device and a prevention and communication tool. You can use it to remind yourself and your doctor when it's time for a screening or a test, who in your family had which illnesses or diseases that could put you at risk, when symptoms for different illnesses began, got worse or better, and ended. A health record also helps people with chronic illnesses manage their conditions better by tracking flare-ups and their possible causes. For instance, noting when you began a new medication could explain a sudden spike in blood pressure.”
Keep It With You
This 3-page brochure from the CDC is called, “Keep It With You” and is a wonderful form for one’s personal medical information. As is stated in the brochure, “In an emergency situation, people may not be able to get to their medical records. The “Keep It With You” (KIWY) Personal Medical Information Form is intended to be a voluntary and temporary record that lists medical care and other health information for people who need care during disasters and similar situations. It is important for health care workers to have a simple and reliable way to learn information about past and new health concerns for people receiving help.”
Preparedness for Seniors
This 7-page brochure from the American Red Cross and prepare.org offers preparedness information for seniors, written by seniors. In the table of contents, one will find, How you may be notified of a possible emergency, Family Disaster Plan, Medical Emergency Supplies, Shelter In Place, If you need to evacuate, Residential Fires, Grandchildren's Safety, and other useful information.
Readiness for Older Adults and Caregivers
This 12-page brochure from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging offers information for older adults and caregivers. From the brochure, the Quick Summary is as follows: “Hurricanes Katrina and Rita reminded us that personal emergency readiness needs to be a priority for everyone, including older adults and caregivers. This supplement to Aging in Stride – Plan Ahead, Stay Connected, Keep Moving recommends a simple, three-step approach:
Step 1 – Know the basics. Learn about the risks your particular community faces; know how to do things like turning off your gas and electricity; get to know your neighbors.
Step 2 – Have your emergency supplies ready. This includes items you would need to survive in your home until help arrives; it should also include a personal evacuation bag, partially packed and ready to go.
Step 3 – Make a personal plan. Many older persons have special needs relating to medications, medical equipment, mobility, and support services; making a personal emergency readiness plan increases the likelihood that essential needs will still be met, even in an emergency situation.”
Preparing Makes Sense for People with Disabilities and Special Needs. Get Ready Now.
This 2-page brochure from ready.gov is called, “Preparing Makes Sense for People with Disabilities and Special Needs. Get Ready Now.” It explains how one can make an emergency supply kit as well as how one can go about planning for a disaster before disaster strikes.
Disaster Preparedness for People With Disabilities
This 48-page booklet from the American Red Cross is called, “Disaster Preparedness for People With Disabilities”. As is stated in the preface of this booklet, “Anyone who has a disability or anyone who works with, lives with, or assists a person with a disability can use this booklet. It contains information that can help you organize a personal disaster plan and includes plans for the care of service animals and/or pets during a disaster.”
FEMA – Persons With Special Needs
This 3-page brochure from FEMA explains additional steps to help protect you in a disaster. It offers additional steps for persons who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, mobility impaired, etc. It further offers tips for checking for hazards in the home and being ready to evacuate.
Planning for a Pandemic/Epidemic or Disaster: Caring for Persons with Cognitive Impairment
This 3-page brochure is called, “Planning for a Pandemic/Epidemic or Disaster: Caring for Persons with Cognitive Impairment.” This brochure is particularly helpful for those who work in long term care facilities.
Preparing for Disasters for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs
This 20-paged booklet from the American Red Cross and FEMA is called, “Preparing for Disasters for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs.” As is stated in this booklet, “For the millions of Americans who have physical, medical, sensory or cognitive disabilities, emergencies such as fires, floods and acts of terrorism present a real challenge. The same challenge also applies to the elderly and other special needs populations. Protecting yourself and your family when disaster strikes requires planning ahead. This booklet will help you get started. Discuss these ideas with your family, friends and/or your personal care attendant, or anyone else in your support network and prepare an emergency plan. Post the plan where everyone will see it, keep a copy with you and make sure everyone involved in your plan has a copy.”
Service Animals
This 2-page brochure from the American Red Cross and Prepare.org offers tips for people with service animals or pets. It addresses issues such as I.D.s and Licenses, Animal Care Plans, Alternate Mobility Cues and Emergency Kits for Service Animals.
Peer Support for Those with Psychological Disabilities
This 24-page document addresses the needs of people with psychiatric disabilities during and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as how these needs were not met and how this can be avoided in the event of future disasters.