OSC Guardian - Safety Advice

OSC GUARDIAN - SAFETY ADVICE
www.OramSecurity.com

Monday, April 4, 2011

How to Help Those With Special Needs Prepare Before a Disaster Strikes

This something that unfortunately we do not spend enough time thinking about.

By Joseph Straw
For the disabled and their advocates, the story of emergency management begins with a woman named Benilda Caixeta. An immigrant from Brazil paralyzed by muscular dystrophy, Caixeta was a prolific volunteer and leader among disability advocates in her adopted hometown of New Orleans. Her efforts were well known and resulted in a citation for her work from then-Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco in 2004.
 
 
As Hurricane Katrina bore down on the U.S. Gulf Coast late in August 2005, Caixeta, 51, contacted an accessible transportation provider and made arrangements for a ride to a shelter. That ride never arrived. When the storm hit the city on August 29, Caixeta called various government agencies and friends seeking help. Soon, the levee containing the Industrial Canal running alongside her Ninth Ward neighborhood failed. A week later, Caixeta’s wheelchair and her dead body were found floating inside her home.
 
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