NOTES FROM THE APRIL 16, 2008 MEETING of the MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE on DISABILITY, Hosted by the PUBLIC ACCESS COMMITTEE OF EASTHAM
Present from MOD: Myra Berloff, Director; Jeffrey Dougan, Assistant Director for Community Services and Jackie Higgins, Access Specialist
Present from MEMA: Louise Arnold, Director of Accessibility and Inclusion
Present from PACE: Richard Adelman, Co-Chair, Peggy Kern, David Kern, Helen Derman
Approximately 40 attendees from Truro, Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Eastham, Orleans, Dennis, and Falmouth representing Police and Fire Departments, Cape Cod Disability Committees/Commissions, the Ad Hoc Committee on Visitability, and a representative from State Representative Sarah Peake’s office.
TOPICS of the Meeting: 1) EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS for the DISABLED COMMUNITY
2) VISITABILITY
3) REGIONAL DISABILITY COMMITTEE/COMMISSION NETWORKING
Part I: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Richard Adelman gave opening remarks. Attendees introduced themselves and stated their roles in the various towns represented at the Meeting.
Myra Berloff, Director of MOD spoke on the joint efforts of MOD and MEMA to have a plan in place to address the needs of “people in need of additional assistance” for the first 72 hours of an all-out emergency. The Red Cross developed a Go Pack that contains a 2-day supply of food and water for two people, and other emergency supplies, i.e. flashlight, light stick, tissues, instant body warmers, batteries, blankets, ponchos, etc. In addition, they recommend a 30-day supply of any medications, list and/or photo of all family members & pets, an audience member suggested ear plugs (it’s noisy in the shelters!)
Louise Arnold is the Accessibility & Inclusion Director for Region 1 of MEMA. MEMA handles emergencies at the State level. When MEMA has exhausted their efforts then FEMA becomes involved. Carl Simmons from Eastham PD (Region 2 of MEMA) reviews 96 local emergency plans. “Everything happens locally.”
Pets and service animals were discussed. There is no certification process for service animals. Service animals have the right to go anywhere with their disabled owner, including shelters. The animal and owner may need to be housed apart from other evacuees (others may be allergic). Pets need to be in cages, have leashes, and pet shelters are separate from shelters for people.
Evacuating Cape Cod was discussed. If you are going to leave the Cape because of a pending hurricane, you have to leave when the storm is in the Bahamas. Tune to 99.9 for State Police announcements. This station has back-up generators in case of a power failure, has taped messages for off-hours. State Police will man the exits on Route 6, shut down the Scenic Highway between bridges. There is a Regional shelter at Otis. Some barracks have accessibility. CCRTA is put into service for getting people to shelters. Ham radio operators and CBers will assist with communications.
Emergency Phone Numbers:
1) E-911. Fill out form so responders will know your needs. Only works where the registered phone is located. This form is not widely known and there is some resistance to putting down “sensitive” information, but PD emphasized that info asked for is very basic.
2) 211. NOT an Emergency #. Is a 1-stop-shopping # for State services: names, numbers, advocates to answer your particular questions. Hours: 8AM-8PM, no weekends. In an Emergency it goes to 24-hour service for non-life-threatening emergencies. If life in danger call 911.
3) Silent 911. If responder receives a 911 call and the caller doesn’t speak, responder goes to TTY, then keyboard response. If still no response, cruiser is sent.
4) 711. To communicate in a non-emergency with a deaf person when you don’t have TTY, the 711 operator relays your message via TTY. Free service.
First Responders are Fire, Police, and Ambulance. Red Cross has citizen training for responders. Some sheriff’s offices are becoming active in training people with disabilities to be responders.
Part II: VISITABILITY/REGIONAL ISSUES
1) On April 10, 2008, the Governor signed into law House Bill # 3499. It is now illegal to park in the cross-hatch section of HP parking spaces.
2) Suggestions re: adapting homes for accessibility: Town Building Inspector could list builders who would modify a home without scamming the homeowner. VNA deals with people who need modifications to return home from the hospital. Cape Associates has a newsletter that goes to everyone who has had work done by them. The suggestion was to ask CA to put an article in the newsletter re: Visitability. Dennis-Harwich Lions Outreach Coordinator contacts people who build ramps at cost.
3) There is no unified Visitability Standard Statewide or nationwide. AHC on Visitability is trying to get reps from towns on the Cape together to come up with a unified definition.
4) Myra Berloff clarified that the MAAB has jurisdiction over the Building Code for housing of 3 or more units. They do not have jurisdiction over one-family homes. Federal Government has jurisdiction over housing with 4 or more units. MAAB cannot add Visitability to the State Building Code. Contact Board of Building Regulations and Standards to address adding Visitability to the General State Building Code.
5) In a triple-decker unit, MAAB has jurisdiction on the lowest level of the building as regards accessibility. 3 Side-by-side units – MA regs are more stringent than Federal regs. There is a committee of advocates at the State level that has an Assistance Transformation Grant to study barriers that make it difficult to continue living in the community. 151B of MA Code of Laws: section added re: townhouses that were built as multi-family units have to provide accessibility at the front door. Multi-family units now have to have doorways that are capable of being adapted – advocates want all doorways to be 28” wide.
6) Local laws can be more stringent than State laws. State laws are more stringent than ADA. ADA is enforced only by the Department of Justice.
7) If a town law puts Visitability in place, enforcement must be included. The Building Inspector reviews building plans and enforces zoning laws. The State Attorney General’s Office will direct a call to the right department for questions on implementation of local laws. Cambridge is discussing requiring Visitability in new construction.
Respectfully Submitted,
Helen Derman, Secretary
| 
