For most residents of Northeast Florida, being prepared for a hurricane means making sure they have a supply of the three Bs: batteries, bottled water and Beanee Weenee. For disabled residents, that's not being prepared enough.
The Independent Living Resource Center of Northeast Florida presented the 7th annual Emergency Preparedness Conference for Persons with Disabilities Thursday at the Main Library Conference Center. More than 300 people registered to participate in the day-long event to learn about preparing for emergencies and to connect with state and local agencies that assist disabled people.
Tyler Morris, ILRC director of marketing and development, said 1 in 5 people are disabled.
"That means there are more than 40,000 disabled people in Duval County and more than 50,000 disabled people in North Florida," he said.
Seminars covered topics including stocking supplies for an emergency, CPR, special needs transportation in the event of evacuation and pet and service animal considerations.
New this year was the demonstration of a smartphone app that allows deaf and hard-of-hearing people to contact 911 emergency services.
The conference was sponsored by The City Military Affairs, Veterans and Disabled Services Division; CSX Transportation, Big Bend Health Council, The American Red Cross and Vistakon Johnson & Johnson Vision Care.
(904) 356-2466
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