Advance Opportunities _review
PJ: The A in Prepared4ALL stands for Advance opportunities. Make the most of timing and opportunities such as engaging in September’s Preparedness Month campaigns or participating in existing emergency preparedness events like practice drills and exercises and health fairs.
The planners email the Action Team with exciting news: The Tornado Gap Times and the local TV station agree to run stories about the COVID-19 vaccine emergency dispensing site (EDS). They want to interview Action Team members, the Disability Commission, the ADA coordinator, the chair of the Somali Health Center, and Salud‘s chief health officer. The Action Team is excited that the collaboration is moving forward.
In addition, you remember that the local adult day program makes a weekly library trip on Wednesdays. Usually, this would be a great time to share vaccine EDS information with staff and program participants. But because of COVID-19, the library and the local Rotary club deliver books to the program. You could ask the library if they would insert a flyer with the EDS information inside the books!
Also, a coalition of self-advocates from the community has an upcoming online meeting and they could share EDS information with their members.
The goal is to share information about the EDS plans and facts about the vaccine to keep the County informed.
The Action Team meets again.
Allen: Someone mentions the importance of welcoming direct support professionals at vaccine EDS sites. Direct support professionals perform vital services for people with disabilities that support independence. Some people may arrive with a direct support professional. They should not be separated, even if there is a “no visitors” rule. The support these professionals provide will ease their clients’ path through the vaccine EDS, maintaining efficiency. So, it’s important to make sure that this is in the local EDS plan.
The Team also identified staff, board members, and individuals with lived experience with disability, chronic and mental health conditions to review the planners’ EDS messaging. The reviewers would be able to let the planners know whether the messages would sound accurate and actionable to the disability community.
? Think about timing and opportunities. What else could an Action Team make the most of?
Feedback
The Team could connect with a local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) or Citizen Corps group (volunteer citizen responders). There might be opportunities for collaboration or training related to disability. Or the volunteers might like to train Action Team members about their work so Team Members could join the CERT, MRC or Citizen Corps programs.
The Action Team members started thinking about the best way to share EDS messages with their staff, board members, and the people they serve. People like to hear information from people and organizations they trust.
As a disability organization, Access & Equity, Inc. is an expert about the people they serve. Access & Equity knows that their Disability Service Navigators, most of whom have disabilities themselves, often talk to stakeholders as does the local Center for Independent Living. These groups will be the main messengers for vaccine EDS messages.
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