Vulnerable communities

One of the greatest assets for first responders in Canada is the strong sense of community within each hamlet, town and city across the country. This sense of community is a strength that can and should be used when preparing for or responding to an emergency.

Informal networks are often already in place and can be helpful to police. Through them, community leaders and other individuals can help identify vulnerable populations and their emergency response needs.

Persons with disabilities and vulnerable persons may require additional time or alternate means to communicate their thoughts or may need assistance with their mobility during an emergency. They are a first responder's greatest resource to communicate what help they will need.

Organizational preparedness

To ensure that everyone in a community has access to the information they'll need to make informed decisions, strategies for emergency preparation, notification and response must take into account the needs and abilities of all residents. Using multiple means of communication serves to reduce dependence on any one method and gets the message out more effectively.

Police and other first responders, along with regional governments and relevant emergency management organizations, should actively consult and develop communication and response plans with community disability groups, home health care providers and others prior to an emergency. This will allow greater insight into the size and scope of the community of persons with disabilities and vulnerable population, and help identify what formal and informal response resources are available in any given community.

Encourage self sufficiency

Everyone in a community, with or without a disability, should be encouraged to prepare for an emergency beforehand. For persons with disabilities, their needs in an emergency can vary greatly and they may not be aware of which strategies are suitable or which services or resources are available to them.

There are national, provincial and territorial emergency preparedness guides and materials available that provide information for persons with disabilities, outlining the steps and strategies they might take during the different phases of an emergency. Know where to direct people — before an emergency.

There are a number of applications available for smartphones that may be useful during an emergency. For individuals with vision or auditory disabilities, there are tools that can help to make information more accessible, such as apps that enable a smartphone to convert speech to text. Apps such as the Dragon Mobile Assistant, for example, allow a user to easily convert speech to text, which can then be stored in the phone, or sent as an SMS or email. Alternately, there are many IP Relay apps that can call and relay typed messages in a voice format.

Communicating

Communication is a vital component of emergency preparedness and response. Ensuring that everyone has the information they need to effectively prepare for and safely respond to an emergency or disaster can mean the difference between life and death.

For persons with disabilities, accessing timely information can be particularly challenging even when all traditional means and communication systems are working properly. Unfortunately, their unique communication needs are often overlooked in general emergency communication responses.

People who are deaf or hard of hearing can't hear radio, television, sirens or other audible alerts. For people who are blind or have low vision, visual cues such as flashing lights or scrolling text messages on television or signboards will not be helpful.

For many of Canada's northern and remote communities, radio is the first place that residents turn to for information. Because television programming is often based in the south, many communities throughout the territories and northern areas of the provinces have local radio stations that residents rely on for timely information. Ensure that community liaisons are established with the relevant stakeholders. They may be the help you need in an emergency.

Large first-responder organizations are still addressing how to capitalize on the use of social media, which has become one of the most common ways that people access information, communicate with family and friends and, in some cases, seek help during emergencies. In fact, one third of Canadians report that their preferred method of gaining information during an emergency is electronically. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube (among other web services) should be considered important tools in managing emergencies.

Signage and announcements

Police and other first responders should produce and maintain a library of emergency messages in multiple accessible formats, such as visual, large print and Braille. During an emergency, there won't be time to develop accessible formats. Preparing this ahead of time will ensure information can get to everyone in a timely and accessible manner. For example, a one-page handout with six simple illustrations can be used to provide evacuation notification and information on where to shelter.

Written notices and announcements can be posted in public areas where they will be widely seen and understood. They can be easily changed or updated as circumstances unfold, and can provide a rallying point for members of the community to congregate if posted in a central location such as an arena, school or church.

Announcements should be clearly written using plain language, in relevant languages, in large print, and using sans serif fonts (Arial, Verdana, Calibri). The text should also have a strong colour contrast with the background. Consider using pictograms instead of text.

Written announcements aren't accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision, and should never be the only means of communication. Emerging technologies allow documents to be quickly translated into Braille or audio MP3s, which can then be easily listened to using a personal device.

A public address system presents an opportunity to communicate auditory announcements. If possible, video announcements, which could include captioning and/or sign language, may also be helpful for communicating in an inclusive way.

Once again, there is no single, prescribed method. The needs and circumstances of the community and the size and scale of the emergency will shape the best approach. Most often, a variety of methods should be used.

Recognize, react, improvise

Best practices in emergency response often mean paying special attention to using multiple and alternative means of communications, both technological and low-technology methods.

Take this scenario, for example. While conducting door-to-door evacuation notifications of a neighbourhood in the path of a forest fire, a person answers the door who clearly can't understand your scripted evacutation message. It's unclear if the person is deaf, hard of hearing or if there's a language barrier. Time is of the essence.

Regardless of the language used, the spoken word isn't always the best way to convey the message. Think fast — most of us have played charades at some point in our lives. When we travel to foreign countries where we don't speak the language, body language and motions are often all we can rely on to communicate. Use body language and improvized sign language to convey your message.

Nearly everyone today carries a work or personal mobile smartphone. You can type out a brief message using the note or chat feature and share your screen to show the message. This use of existing, on-hand technology is the fastest and easiest way to facilitate a two-way conversation if you think the person is deaf or hard of hearing.

When communicating a message in an emergency, it's all about conveying your message in the quickest way possible so that it's understood by the other party. As a first responder, adapting and improvising can mean the difference to getting your message across and ensuring a good outcome for everyone.

This article has been drafted in part from materials developed as part of the On Thin Ice Project, funded by the Government of Canada's Social Development Partnerships Program and managed by The Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments.