Hollis recalled turning to the second caregiver: “I said, ‘Hey, do you have faith?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Okay, we’re gonna get through this.’”
They did, but their experience in the wildfires that ravaged two Southern California communities last month served as another reminder of the threat that natural disasters pose for people with disabilities and limited mobility as well as their caregivers, who often take on the role of first responders in these situations.
These dangers have been apparent for decades, especially since Hurricane Katrina, the most deadly natural disaster in recent U.S. history, leveled the Gulf Coast in 2005. In California, the deadly fires that struck Sonoma and Butte counties in 2017 and 2018 resurfaced these issues. A state audit from 2019 showed that historically, emergency response by state and county agencies have struggled to properly assist people with disabilities and limited mobility.
In the letter, a coalition of 126 organizations that included the AARP, Justice in Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association, asked the governor and lawmakers to prioritize disabled and older residents as the state distributes wildfire recovery funds. The request to the state is less about a specific dollar amount and more about creating a recovery process with this population in mind, said Hagar Dickman, director of long-term services and support advocacy at Justice in Aging.
