People with disability invited to disaster preparedness event tomorrow
Published on 25 March 2021
Residents with a disability and carers are being invited by Carers Queensland to come together over a sausage sizzle tomorrow to learn more about preparing for a natural disaster at this year’s Neighbour Day event.
The event kicks off at 10am at the Rocky Sports Club. It is hosted by Carers Queensland, Rockhampton Region’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Local Area Coordination Partner in the Community.
Chair of the Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG) Mayor Tony Williams said that Council’s Disaster Management Team is looking forward to supporting the event along with other emergency services agencies in our Region.
“I’ve been told the event will go ahead rain, hail or shine,” Mayor Williams said.
“This will be a great day for carers and people with disability across our community to come together, have a chat about being ready for disasters, and find out about the resources available locally to help prepare,” Mayor Williams said.
Area Manager for Carers Queensland’s NDIS LAC PITC program Lee-Anne Simpson says Neighbour Day is a great time to make sure we’re ready to take care of everyone in the community when disaster strikes.
“Living in a region prone to cyclones, flooding and bushfire, we need to take into account the needs of everyone in our household and our community,” Ms Simpson said.
“It’s important to make sure we’re having clear conversations with local authorities, emergency services, and most importantly the people with disability who live in our region, who’ve been through past disasters and have valuable knowledge and experience to share.”
Event attendees are invited to bring along their favourite recipe or garden cutting to share with neighbours and take the opportunity to share their experiences as well as enjoy a sausage sizzle and talk to local emergency service personnel.
Mayor Williams said disability inclusive disaster planning is a real focus for Council’s Disaster Management unit.
“Council is committed to ensuring everyone in our community has the tools and information they need to be as prepared as possible,” Mayor Williams said.
“One of the ways we’re doing this is by promoting the Person-Centred Emergency Plan toolkit – an initiative of Queensland’s Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction strategy.
“This toolkit is designed specifically for people with a disability and is available on our website.
“If you’re interested in working through the toolkit our Disaster Management team would be more than happy to chat about this with you, so feel free to pay our team a visit at this event or get in touch with us by phone or email.”
The Person-Centred Emergency Plan (P-CEP) toolkit is available on our website: https://www.rockhamptonregion.qld.gov.au/CouncilServices/Disaster-Management/
If you’re interested in attending a workshop to go through your plan, or if you would like to be trained in delivering the P-CEP to others, get in touch with us by emailing disastermanagement@rrc.qld.gov.au or calling 4932 9000.
More information about the event is here: https://www.rockhamptonregion.qld.gov.au/CommunityEvents/Events-Activities/Neighbour-Day-Disaster-preparedness
Event details:
Neighbour Day Rockhampton
Friday 26 March, 10am – 2pm
Rocky Sports Club
1 Lion Creek Road