{"id":1936,"date":"2025-01-21T11:39:41","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T11:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/21\/as-the-la-wildfires-have-shown-people-with-disabilities-often-have-to-fend-for-themselves\/"},"modified":"2025-01-21T11:39:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T11:39:41","slug":"as-the-la-wildfires-have-shown-people-with-disabilities-often-have-to-fend-for-themselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/21\/as-the-la-wildfires-have-shown-people-with-disabilities-often-have-to-fend-for-themselves\/","title":{"rendered":"As the LA wildfires have shown, people with disabilities often have to fend for themselves"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires began last week, Jo-Marie Lawrence was watching a movie in Burbank with her friend when the mall lost power. <\/p>\n

That meant Lawrence, 32, a quadriplegic actor and wheelchair user, and her friend, who also uses a wheelchair, could not use the elevators. They were atop a flight of about 70 steps and the manager didn\u2019t have a plan to get them to safety. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople were offering to carry us, but it was pretty steep. And we were like, \u2018We don\u2019t really know who you are or trust you,\u2019 \u201d Lawrence said. The manager and other employees waited with Lawrence and her friend until firefighters arrived to carry them down. <\/p>\n

It was one moment that highlights the challenges people with disabilities face in a fast-moving emergency that may limit their choices or even keep them from evacuating to safety. They might have trouble navigating their homes, especially in multi-level buildings, or workplaces and public spaces. Some people require medications, specialized medical equipment that needs power to charge and specially prepared foods that require refrigeration. <\/p>\n

It can also be difficult to find safe and accessible spaces to evacuate to; not every shelter can meet a person\u2019s specific accessibility needs. Some people with disabilities might also have trouble navigating difficult landscapes, struggle with air quality and need help caring for their service animals. <\/p>\n

Lawrence has been disabled for six years, and she said this was her first emergency of this magnitude. She and her friend made it home safely that night, but she said it was unsettling that the only help movie employees could provide was to wait with them until first responders arrived. <\/p>\n

Her experience shows how important it is for people with disabilities to have individual emergency plans for a variety of potential difficult situations. <\/p>\n

When wildfires are encroaching on homes and public spaces, waiting for help to arrive may not suffice. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Jo-Marie Lawrence lives alone. An aide helped her pack an emergency bag as wildfires grew.<\/span> <\/div>
Courtesy James Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The next morning, Lawrence, who lives alone, said the aide who helps her start her day arrived in a panic, and insisted that she pack an emergency bag in case she had to evacuate. After helping Lawrence pack essential supplies like medication and catheters, the aide left because her own house was in danger. <\/p>\n

Lawrence said she spent the rest of the day feeling anxious. That night, when her apartment was on the edge of an evacuation zone, she called her boyfriend in Culver City to help her leave. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t just get up and run. I can\u2019t just grab my favorite items. I need to get my medical supplies that are very necessary for me to function throughout the night,\u201d Lawrence said. She said she\u2019s fortunate; some of the other people with disabilities in her building live alone and rely on part-time caregivers, but don\u2019t have partners to call to help them evacuate. <\/p>\n

Facing greater risk during a disaster<\/h2>\n

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the mortality rate for disabled people during a natural disaster is two to four times higher than the general population. <\/p>\n

Among 27 people confirmed dead in the wildfires so far, several were known to have disabilities or mobility issues. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

Related article<\/span> Risks from ash and air pollution remain for people returning after wildfires. Here\u2019s how to stay safe<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Anthony Mitchell, 67, was an amputee and wheelchair user who lived with his son Justin in Altadena. Justin had cerebral palsy. Anthony\u2019s daughter, Hajime White, who lives in Arkansas, told The Washington Post that authorities told her that her father\u2019s body was found by Justin\u2019s bed. <\/p>\n

Rory Callum Sykes, 32, a former child star from Australia, died January 8 on the family\u2019s Mount Malibu TV Studios estate, his mother Shelley Sykes wrote on X January 9. Rory was born blind and with cerebral palsy and had difficulty walking. <\/p>\n

In her post, Shelly Sykes said she was trying to put out the cinders on the roof of the cottage that he lived in, but the water had been switched off. She told Australia\u2019s 10 News First that she couldn\u2019t get through to 911 when she tried to call for help and had a broken arm so she couldn\u2019t lift Rory or physically help him evacuate. <\/p>\n

Altadena resident Carolyn Burns, 56, died in her home from smoke inhalation and \u201cthermal injuries,\u201d according to a medical examiner\u2019s report. In an earlier missing person\u2019s notice, Burns\u2019 family said she was bedridden. <\/p>\n

Another Altadena resident who died at his residence, Zhi Feng Zhao, 84, had mobility and vision issues. He was identified by the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an ongoing failure (in the US) to center the need for not leaving people with disabilities behind,\u201d said Roth, who established the US Federal Emergency Management Agency\u2019s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination and served as the director until 2017. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s work underway to harness technology and artificial intelligence, or AI, to help share information with people with disabilities, she said. But there\u2019s also a need to draw on the expertise of people in the community. <\/p>\n

Roth is disabled and said that the reality of living with a disability makes her and many other people in the community natural problem solvers in a crisis. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yet there is an assumption that people with disabilities are a liability in disasters,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to build the leadership of disabled people to shift that equation from being a liability to being an asset.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

Related article<\/span> Wildfires are a threat to mental health that can linger even years later<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The idea that \u201cthe government is going to come, the first responders are going to come, well, that\u2019s fine for a house fire but not a catastrophic event,\u201d said Kailes, who is disabled. A disabled person without loved ones living with them might have to rely on a neighbor or friend to help them evacuate and in a life-or-death emergency, may need to leave medical equipment behind. <\/p>\n

Kailes said one way the response gap could be shortened and lives potentially saved is if first responders and government officials gave callers a potential estimated time to evacuate or direct orders to evacuate with just the clothes on their backs if they don\u2019t think they\u2019ll be alive by the time help can arrive. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe as a disability (community) can blame the government, can blame the plan, can blame everybody, but what about ourselves?\u201d she said, noting that in a crisis, factors like gridlock are impossible for emergency responders to predict. <\/p>\n

She\u2019s working on a checklist for people with disabilities who need help with long-term planning in case of a catastrophe \u2014 it starts with asking a trusted neighbor to help you evacuate if needed. <\/p>\n

Kristen Lopez, an author with a disability, lives in North Hollywood with her mother, who is also her caretaker. They decided last week that if the Sunset Fire reached a certain point on the wildfire-tracking Watch Duty app, they were leaving, even if they weren\u2019t in an evacuation zone. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Kristen Lopez said she and her mother packed everything they could in case they had to evacuate.<\/span> <\/div>
Courtesy Kristen Lopez<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lopez knows she\u2019s fortunate to have her apartment and her mother to help her flee if necessary. <\/p>\n

If she lived alone, she said, \u201cNo one\u2019s coming to save me. I\u2019m well aware of that.\u201d <\/p>\n

Resources to help people with disabilities<\/h2>\n

There are some resources already in place to help people with disabilities. <\/p>\n

Disabled survivors of the California wildfires or any other national emergency can call the disabled-led Disability and Disaster Hotline at 1-800-626-4959 for help. <\/p>\n

While it\u2019s recommended that people call 911 for medical emergencies, disabled people at the hotline, run by The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, known as PIDS, a national nonprofit dedicated to serving and maintaining the rights of disabled people during crisis, help their peers access information and make actionable plans based on their needs. <\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  • Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta<\/strong> every Friday from the CNN Health team.<\/li>\n
      <\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

      The hotline can also help connect disabled people to emergency management if their access needs prevent them from directly calling or they\u2019re having trouble getting through. <\/p>\n

      PIDS also coordinates its efforts with various California Independent Living Centers and other organizations to help disabled people get non-emergent needs met within one to two days. <\/p>\n

      For legal help, contact Disability Rights California. <\/p>\n

      To find a nearby shelter, visit the American Red Cross shelter locator or the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

      For more information on disaster preparedness visit Disability Disaster Access and Resources. <\/p>\n

      Donate to or pick up disability specific medical supplies to the Moss Donation Center, 1285 Electric Avenue, Venice, CA 90291. <\/p>\n

      Esme Mazzeo<\/em> is a New York-based freelance entertainment and disability culture journalist.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

      This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      As the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires began last week, Jo-Marie Lawrence was watching a movie in Burbank with her friend when the mall lost power. That meant Lawrence, 32, a quadriplegic actor and wheelchair user, and her friend, who also uses a wheelchair, could not use the elevators. They were atop a flight of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"loftocean_post_primary_category":0,"loftocean_post_format_gallery":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_ids":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_urls":"","loftocean_post_format_video_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_video_url":"","loftocean_post_format_video_type":"","loftocean_post_format_video":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_type":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_url":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_audio":"","loftocean-featured-post":"","loftocean-like-count":0,"loftocean-view-count":462,"tinysalt_single_post_intro_label":"","tinysalt_single_post_intro_description":"","tinysalt_hide_post_featured_image":"","tinysalt_post_featured_media_position":"","tinysalt_single_site_header_source":"","tinysalt_single_custom_site_header":"0","tinysalt_single_custom_sticky_site_header":"0","tinysalt_single_custom_sticky_site_header_style":"sticky-scroll-up","tinysalt_single_site_footer_source":"","tinysalt_single_custom_site_footer":"0","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}