In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Disability Community has faced significant challenges. The National Council on Disability (NCD) issued a powerful letter on Monday, November 19, 2024, to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS), highlighting critical civil rights violations against people with disabilities during disaster response and recovery. This letter serves as a call to action for systemic changes that will safeguard the rights, independence, and dignity of disabled people during future emergencies.
The Crisis: Institutionalization of People with Disabilities
NCD's letter outlines alarming reports of institutionalization during and after the hurricanes. These cases include shelters refusing entry to people who rely on oxygen because they don’t have a personal care assistant (PCA) when they don't need one, hospitals transferring patients to skilled nursing facilities instead of arranging for the necessary equipment at home, and shelters failing to provide adequate PCA support. As the letter states:
“These are but a few examples of incidents which have or may lead to the involuntary institutionalization of an individual with a disability. It is indisputable that people with disabilities are placed in institutions during and after disasters”
Institutionalization often leads to a breakdown of support systems, making transitions into the community incredibly difficult. Families and advocates face additional barriers due to inadequate tracking and notification systems when disabled people are moved to institutional settings. NCD emphasizes that this lack of accountability exacerbates the problem, leaving many disabled disaster survivors untraceable.
Data Gaps and Accountability
The NCD letter underscores the urgent need for data collection systems to track the movement and institutionalization of disabled people during disasters. As they note:
“Lack of tracking and notification to families combined with inadequate data make documenting the number of people with disabilities institutionalized during and after disasters a challenge, if not impossible.”
Data collection is essential not only for accountability but also to support transition efforts. NCD has called on HHS to establish systems that would immediately begin identifying and documenting displaced individuals during federally declared disasters. This data would enable disability organizations like Centers for Independent Living (CIL) to provide targeted transition support.
A Need for Real-Time Remedies
One of the most striking aspects of the NCD letter is its focus on the limitations of current complaint systems. Disabled people often face a lengthy and cumbersome process when filing complaints with HHS or DHS, leaving many without immediate remedies for civil rights violations. NCD offers a pragmatic solution:
“NCD recommends HHS and DHS create a 24-hour staffed hotline during periods of presidentially declared emergency or major disaster declarations. Alternatively, HHS and DHS should consider contracting with disability organizations to manage the hotline during presidential disaster declarations”
A real-time hotline would provide immediate recourse for those experiencing discrimination and reduce the risk of institutionalization by addressing issues as they arise.
What Needs to Happen Next
The issues identified in NCD’s letter are not new. They occur during every disaster and disproportionately impact disabled communities. With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and severe, the need for systemic reform is paramount.
NCD concludes with a call to action:
“It is well-established that people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by extreme weather events and environmental hazards... Now is the time to create solutions to mitigate the impact of future disasters on [people with disabilities]”
Join Us in Advocacy
We at The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies stand in solidarity with NCD’s recommendations and the disabled community. Our work is driven by the same commitment to equity and inclusion that NCD champions. We urge policymakers, agencies, and community leaders to take these recommendations to heart and implement them immediately.
At The Partnership, we are committed to driving the change needed to protect disabled people before, during, and after disasters. We invite you to join us in amplifying NCD’s call to action. Together, we can ensure that every person, regardless of ability, has access to equitable, dignified, and inclusive disaster response and recovery services.
NCD Letter to HHS & DHS After Hurricanes Helene and Milton
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Updated: December 3, 2024 by admin
In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Disability Community has faced significant challenges. The National Council on Disability (NCD) issued a powerful letter on Monday, November 19, 2024, to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS), highlighting critical civil rights violations against people with disabilities during disaster response and recovery. This letter serves as a call to action for systemic changes that will safeguard the rights, independence, and dignity of disabled people during future emergencies.
The Crisis: Institutionalization of People with Disabilities
NCD's letter outlines alarming reports of institutionalization during and after the hurricanes. These cases include shelters refusing entry to people who rely on oxygen because they don’t have a personal care assistant (PCA) when they don't need one, hospitals transferring patients to skilled nursing facilities instead of arranging for the necessary equipment at home, and shelters failing to provide adequate PCA support. As the letter states:
“These are but a few examples of incidents which have or may lead to the involuntary institutionalization of an individual with a disability. It is indisputable that people with disabilities are placed in institutions during and after disasters”
Institutionalization often leads to a breakdown of support systems, making transitions into the community incredibly difficult. Families and advocates face additional barriers due to inadequate tracking and notification systems when disabled people are moved to institutional settings. NCD emphasizes that this lack of accountability exacerbates the problem, leaving many disabled disaster survivors untraceable.
Data Gaps and Accountability
The NCD letter underscores the urgent need for data collection systems to track the movement and institutionalization of disabled people during disasters. As they note:
“Lack of tracking and notification to families combined with inadequate data make documenting the number of people with disabilities institutionalized during and after disasters a challenge, if not impossible.”
Data collection is essential not only for accountability but also to support transition efforts. NCD has called on HHS to establish systems that would immediately begin identifying and documenting displaced individuals during federally declared disasters. This data would enable disability organizations like Centers for Independent Living (CIL) to provide targeted transition support.
A Need for Real-Time Remedies
One of the most striking aspects of the NCD letter is its focus on the limitations of current complaint systems. Disabled people often face a lengthy and cumbersome process when filing complaints with HHS or DHS, leaving many without immediate remedies for civil rights violations. NCD offers a pragmatic solution:
“NCD recommends HHS and DHS create a 24-hour staffed hotline during periods of presidentially declared emergency or major disaster declarations. Alternatively, HHS and DHS should consider contracting with disability organizations to manage the hotline during presidential disaster declarations”
A real-time hotline would provide immediate recourse for those experiencing discrimination and reduce the risk of institutionalization by addressing issues as they arise.
What Needs to Happen Next
The issues identified in NCD’s letter are not new. They occur during every disaster and disproportionately impact disabled communities. With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and severe, the need for systemic reform is paramount.
NCD concludes with a call to action:
“It is well-established that people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by extreme weather events and environmental hazards... Now is the time to create solutions to mitigate the impact of future disasters on [people with disabilities]”
Join Us in Advocacy
We at The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies stand in solidarity with NCD’s recommendations and the disabled community. Our work is driven by the same commitment to equity and inclusion that NCD champions. We urge policymakers, agencies, and community leaders to take these recommendations to heart and implement them immediately.
At The Partnership, we are committed to driving the change needed to protect disabled people before, during, and after disasters. We invite you to join us in amplifying NCD’s call to action. Together, we can ensure that every person, regardless of ability, has access to equitable, dignified, and inclusive disaster response and recovery services.
Category: Disability Advocacy, Disability Advocacy Tags: Helene, Milton, NCD