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Emergency Preparedness Conference 2010

Center for Independent Living of Broward Presents Emergency Preparedness Conference
for Persons with Disabilities

See Event Photos Here

Fort Lauderdale – The Center for Independent Living of Broward in conjunction with The Governor’s Hurricane Conference presented a daylong conference for persons with disabilities May 26, 2010 at the Renaissance Port Everglades Hotel and the Governor’s Hurricane Conference at the Broward County Convention Center.

The event, sponsored in part by The Florida Department of Health and The Governor’s Hurricane Conference, congregated 175 persons with disabilities to convey the most up to date and information available to help them prepare for an emergency. The program included Keynote speaker Bruce McFarlane, Director, Emergency Preparedness Initiative, National Organization on Disabilities. Mr. McFarlane’s message included the progress made by FEMA since Hurricane Wilma to improve the special needs shelters to accommodate persons with disabilities. He also stated FEMA’s direction to local governments to “shore up” these plans before another hurricane or disaster strikes.
Mr. McFarlane also stated the necessity of and individual plan by all before an emergency strikes.

Other presenters included Chip Wilson, Statewide Disability Coordinator, Florida Division of Emergency Management who also spoke of the importance of an individual plan for everybody, especially persons with disabilities. Mr. Wilson also stated that the State of Florida has prioritized the importance of special needs shelters to serve persons with disabilities.
A panel discussion perused featuring local community and area representatives discussing changes in Broward County mass shelters and special needs shelters, communication, Vulnerable Population Registry, community responders and long term recovery. The morning activities were concluded with Norma Rossoff, Independent Living Specialist from the Center for Independent Living of Broward giving special direction to attendees an how to prepare their own personal plan in the event of an emergency.

All the attendees were then escorted to buses that transported them to the Governor’s Hurricane Convention at Broward County Convention Center. Once there, people were provided lunch, escorted to the General Session of the GHC where Craig Fugate, National Director of FEMA was the keynote speaker. Attendees were also invited to view the many exhibits on display in the Exhibit Hall.

The entire day was presented at no charge to the consumers. They were also given Emergency Preparation Kits containing many items needed by an individual in the event of an emergency. The kits were planned, purchased and organized by the High School High Tech students from the CILB as part of their “Project Impact” undertaking.

The day proved to be informative, fun and a great time was had by all who attended.

For more information regarding what you can do to prepare for an emergency, call Center for Independent Living of Broward at 954-722-6400. Media call Debbie Kuhn at 954-722-6400.

Broward Census Team Appreciation Day

The Center for Independent Living of Broward played a key role in insuring that persons with disabilities of Broward County were counted in this year's Census.

Independent Living Specialist, Felix Cruz was honored for his exceptional work in the success of Broward County's Census 2010.