A NEW MISSION FOR WSEMA

Jim House, Disability/AFN Integration Manager

Coalition on Inclusive Emergency Planning

Washington Statewide Independent Living Council

In late September, I went to my first Washington State Emergency Management Association (WSEMA) Conference at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Airway Heights near Spokane.  There, I met up with numerous CIEP partners, many for the first time in person face-to-face after months and years of Zoom meetings imposed by COVID social distancing guidelines in 2020.

Through using virtual meetings over the years, CIEP was able to significantly expand its roster of partners wanting to enhance their local or regional Access and Functional Needs (AFN) activities, so these online meetings continued even after the pandemic mandates ended. We went from 10-15 participants in quarterly face-to-face meetings in Lacey to an average of 30-40 participants in our monthly Zoom meetings this year. Yet, despite the growth in attendance, virtual meetings lacked human touch through hugs, handshakes and swapping business cards. So, for many of us, WSEMA offered me an opportunity to connect face-to-face with CIEP partners throughout the state for the first time.

The theme of this conference was MISSION: Possible, a play on one of my favorite TV shows during my teen years. I was fascinated by the cinematography with its close-up shots, the futuristic spy gear, now primitive compared to the technology that we see today. At that age, I enjoyed hearing the iconic theme music by the late Lalo Schifrin. The plots were kind of hard to decipher because in those days, closed captioning was not yet available to transcribe the dialogue. Today, with reruns now captioned, I could easily follow along with Jim Phelps and his amazing Impossible Mission Force (IM Force), Barney, Willy, and a string of rotating characters, their dossiers listing unique skills that help the IM Force complete each mission.

During one of the conference’s presentations, a speaker broke from his presentation to directly ask the interpreter how she knew she was good at her work. Caught off guard, the interpreter replied but could not give a clear answer without stepping out of her role as a communication tool.  I stood up and said you should ask the community how they know an interpreter was good. Thanks to other audience members that gave supportive feedback, the speaker learned the value of this mission to include and respect the whole community. Nothing About Us Without Us!

It was not all lectures at WSEMA as we had fun with raffles and games throughout the week. I enjoyed meeting new people, including representatives from various transportation agencies as well as vendors of different tools to help fulfill our mission. In the exhibit area, I met with a fellow agent, who is a longtime friend and CIEP supporter, Ted Buehner, a meteorologist and weather reporter for KIRO Newsradio’s MyNorthwest network. Ted introduced me to Bruce Jones, another meteorologist from Midland Radio Corporation, that manufactures NOAA Weather Radios. Like a smoke detector inside the home, this tool provides me with situational awareness of what is happening outside the home, weatherwise. Having owned a bedside model, I gave Mr. Jones some suggestions to improve the user experience of being alerted to an incoming message. There are accessories such as a strobe light and a pillow shaker that alert sleepers who are deaf or hard of hearing. When using the pillow shaker, there is one clip that attaches to a pillow, but this leaves the device hanging off the pillow, and the user may not be able to feel the vibrations when the alarm goes off. I suggested adding a second clip so the pillow shaker can stay against the pillow instead of hanging in midair increasing the chances of alerting a deep sleeper. After a quick consultation with the engineers, he thinks it will be an easy fix.

The conference brought together the best and brightest in emergency management from all corners of Washington State where emergencies can seem impossible at first. Like the IM Force, each agent brought their own set of skills, eager to learn more about trends in disaster risk reduction. I also met some of the new WSEMA Board Members who expressed an interest in making the conference more accessible for the Whole Community, including AFN best practices. Next year, the WSEMA Conference will be at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort in Auburn.    

Thanks to WSEMA, a team of sign language interpreters was provided to ensure my full participation and make my mission possible. I was able to network with old friends and make some new contacts. During the conference I appreciated the hospitality of these special IM agents: Simone Ramel-McKay from Spokane County Emergency Management, Sarah Nuss from Spokane City Emergency Management, and Sandra Carr, a veteran advocate of the Spokane Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Community.  

Simone, Sarah, Sandra, and I will reunite for another mission on November 7th to tour the Disability Action Center, a local Center for Independent Living or CIL, and again on the 8th to provide the first ever Inclusive Emergency Preparedness Workshop in ASL at Lilac Blind Services from 10am to 3pm. To register for the workshop, which includes a virtual option, please click on this link no later than October 24th.

Your mission, WSEMA, should you choose to accept it, is to promote and adopt the best practices with Access and Functional Needs before, during, and after disasters. This message will not self-destruct at all. Good luck.