By Barbara Sheinbein, Environmental Quality and Climate Change Committee (EQC2)

How individuals with disabilities can prepare, respond, and recover to disasters is an important part of an environmental focus for our region. This article by Barbara Sheinbein provides information for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers impacted by disasters in St. Louis City and County.

Key Issues after a Disaster

Individuals with disabilities often have additional barriers when it comes to responding to a disaster. Transportation and mobility can be the first barrier. Depending on the disaster, getting out safely from one's home or getting to an emergency shelter is the first roadblock. Often their immediate area is unsafe to travel and may be very different than it was prior to the disaster. How do they get to a safe location or reach disaster centers set up for the impacted community? Communication can also be difficult for some individuals with disabilities, which can make it difficult to understand first responder instructions. Medical care must be addressed. Are specialized equipment like wheelchairs, canes, or walkers still in usable condition, and if not, how to get working equipment soon? Medications can be an immediate concern. How to get a current supply and continue to get needed medications in a temporary home?  Also, both temporary and permanent housing must be addressed. Is the current housing accessible and, if not, can the person find ways to meet life's basic needs at the temporary or new housing location? If the individual with a disability has a support animal, the needs of the animal are important, including having an area where they can stay with their owner.

After the immediate aftermath, how about the recovery process? Can the individual with the disability get access to needed programs? Can the individual complete necessary applications and monitor the progress?  Are websites or apps accessible for individuals with disabilities?

Available Resources

The following information summarizes a number of government organizations that address these issues. However, there is limited information for individuals with disabilities in both the City and County of St. Louis. There are significant gaps in emergency and implementation plans. Longer-term recovery is often overlooked. (Note: this article does not address non-governmental organizations.)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has an Office of Disability Integration and Coordination. They are organized into two branches. The Cadre Management and Training Branch deploys Disability Integration Advisors and Disability Integration Specialists to support senior leadership as well as individual programs in the Joint Field Office during disasters. The deployable staff provides advisory services, technical assistance, and risk management consultation related to accessibility for individuals with disabilities. These include:

• FEMA facilitates inclusive emergency management and disaster preparedness by advising state, local, tribal, and territorial partners on evacuation planning and accessible transportation for people using wheelchairs and other mobility devices.

• Equipping FEMA disaster recovery centers with communication devices allows people who are blind or have low vision and people who are deaf or hard of hearing or have other communication access need to receive disaster information firsthand.

• Improving disaster housing strategies and guidance so that individuals with disabilities have access to general shelters and temporary housing that meet their needs and help keep families together.

• Sharing the Functional Needs Support Services Guidance with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners. 

• Following a disaster, handing out recovery information published in native languages and alternate formats such as Braille and large print.

• Registering disaster survivors for federal assistance with mobile devices at their homes or temporary shelters.

• Including captioning and ASL interpretation in video products and webinars.

• Procuring and distributing durable medical equipment and other medical supplies.

• Coordinating with state, local, tribal and territorial officials in their efforts to identify potential needs of individuals with disabilities and address shortfalls in disaster response and recovery.

The state of Missouri has a portal with many resources listed for individuals with disabilities in an emergency.   (https://disability.mo.gov/emergency.htm#:~:text=The%20Department%20of%20Transportation%20is,get%20to%20a%20safe%20place)

However, the list contains about 45 items with no apparent directions on how to navigate and coordinate all of them.  It is suggested that plans should be made, but there does not appear to be guidance for collaboration.

In the City of St. Louis, the Office on the Disabled maintains the Access and Functional Needs Registry, a secure database of information supported by the Department of Public Health. The Registry is intended to serve as an emergency preparedness tool whereby the elderly, disabled, and those with temporary mobility needs can provide St. Louis City emergency response agencies with information about any medical or physical conditions that could interfere with their ability to respond to disasters or other emergencies in a safe and timely manner. In turn, emergency response agencies can use this information to better plan and more effectively provide emergency responses for individuals who may need additional assistance during these events.

The City Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) is responsible for reducing the effects of disasters before they occur through mitigation, planning for and coordinating the operations and response to a disaster, managing resources and coordination of recovery efforts following a disaster, as well as providing public information. They work with numerous local, volunteer, state, and federal organizations on an ongoing basis and after a disaster. Other than referrals to non-governmental organizations, there was no apparent help specifically for individuals with disabilities noted.

Even using AI to research, little information was found for direct help from St. Louis County other than referrals to the programs provided by both FEMA and Missouri. St. Louis County also has a Functional Needs Registry similar to St. Louis City.

Conclusion

Findings and recommendations that are particularly important to individuals with disabilities are taken from a report from Washington University Center for the Environment, which prepared a report on the City of St. Louis response to the May 2025 tornado entitled A Vision for Response with a Social Work Lens. 

Readers may wish to read the entire report, but what follows are a few highlights.

Findings

• Social workers and community development organizations have become essential, 

• Significant systemic gaps continue to limit the effectiveness of emergency and disaster preparedness, which compromise equity, coordination, and the ability to respond swiftly and inclusively when crises occur.

• The St. Louis region operates with inconsistent emergency plans, infrastructure, and protocols, leading to confusion and inefficiencies, particularly during emergencies that span multiple jurisdictions. Coordination between government agencies and community-based organizations is often ad hoc, siloed, and reactive rather than strategic.  

• Official disaster response and hazard mitigation plans are outdated or not readily accessible to the public, with the exception of the 2020-2025 St. Louis Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan currently being updated for the next five-year period, reducing transparency and limiting opportunities for public engagement and  accountability. Planning processes frequently neglect mobility, communication, or healthcare needs.  

Recommendations

• Focusing on collaboration is the broadest measure that St. Louis organizations and agencies can take to ensure the cohesive inefficient use of disaster relief resources. 

• Maintaining open channels of communication and up-to-date public resources can have a significant impact on intercommunity knowledge of available resources in the wake of a disaster. Form connections through regional connector organizations.  

• During disaster recovery, getting involved in a Multiagency Resource Center (MARC) through SEMA (State Emergency Management Agency) can also help build partnerships for future disaster preparedness. Generally, intercommunal collaboration among community decision-makers and leaders can allow regions to operate based on need rather than geographic area.