Preparedness for Older Adults

     One of the cool things about being involved in Neighbors Ready! is meeting and talking to lots of inspiring people and learning from their experiences. Even people new in their preparedness journey can share important information about to how to get prepared.
     Case in point: Yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk with Sherrye Steffens. Sherrye had lived in Hawaii for over 40 years; currently, she lives in a retirement community, an HOA in King City, Oregon, with 1,700 residents who are over 55 years old, some with disabilities. With news of the August 2023 Hawaii wildfires that killed over 100 people and destroyed 2,207 buildings, Sherrye realized that her current home and community was vulnerable to disasters. She is determined to help educate and help her community to get prepared. 

Click here to open the Disaster Preparedness Guide for Older Adults by FEMA

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     Sherrye contacted us through our website, www.neighborsready.org, for advise on how to get started in organizing her King City HOA. We spent over an hour chatting, talking tips, tricks and ideas. She'll be holding a meeting this week in her community to organize some volunteers. Given the age range of her community, she is particularly interested in learning about preparedness information for older adults.
      Through online research, she discovered a helpful booklet, "Disaster Preparedness for Older Adults," on FEMA's Ready.gov website. This Guide is intended to support older adults and their caregivers in preparing in three easy steps: assess your needs, create a plan and engage your network. The guide provides easy-to-read, user-friendly worksheets that walk individuals and caregivers through a self-assessment to identify specific needs and checklists that create a personalized plan. Check out www.ready.gov/older-adults for this guide in 12 translations, or for the PDF English version, click here. 
     Thank you, Sherrye, for the tip, now shared with our Neighbors Ready! communities. Also, thank you for being a generous, kind neighbor to the community of Kings City, Oregon! I hope they recognize what a gem of a neighbor you are! 

Author

Karen Ronning-Hall, Disaster Preparedness Evangelist, living in beautiful Portland, Oregon, with hubby Bill, daughter Geneva, Bean dog, Thumper kitty, Terry the turtle, and Theo the Bearded Dragon lizard.