OEM to Host Access & Functional Needs Conference. Tickets Available

This post was previously published on the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management's blog.

Emergency Practices + Inclusion Conference in black letters over a yellow box. Beneath the box are a set of accessibility symbols. From Left to right there is an individual leaning forward in a wheelchair, two hands each touching the thumb and pointer finger to make an 'o' shape, a circle with an arrow pointing up, the letter a in smaller font and larger font, a speech bubble with three dots in the middle, and a dog wearing a harness and leash.

Friday, June 16th, will be EPIC.

Ok, if you know emergency management and public safety types, you know we’ve never met an acronym or piece of jargon we didn’t like.

What is EPIC? It’s is our upcoming free Emergency Practices and Inclusion Conference (E.P.I.C.). What it means is of high importance to those in emergency management, whether it be your full time job, scholarly pursuit, involvement in the community, or just an interest.

EPIC aims to equip attendees with the knowledge and skills to better plan for and meet Access and Functional Needs (AFN) of individuals during an emergency. By working to recognize the broad scope of the AFN population, which includes persons from diverse cultures, are transportation disadvantaged, are non-English or English as a second language speakers, individuals with disabilities, among others, we can address a wider array of challenges and barriers.

All inclusive emergency planning is something that is a focus of ours at the Office of Emergency Management. The public safety plans we write for the City of Philadelphia consider the needs and characteristics of the whole community. Last year, we launched the Access and Functional Needs Advisory Panel to ensure that our plans reflect all citizens needs and to close existing gaps in community planning. AFN panel members include; Temple’s Institute on Disabilities, Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities, and the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf to name a few.

We want to bring what we’ve learned as well as an awareness to Access and Functional Needs in the community to you, whether you’re in emergency management, public safety, a student, or community leader. You do not need to be an expert to participate, we welcome and want all background knowledge and experience.

Learn more or register by visiting our event page.

Speakers include:

Neil McDevitt, Executive Director, Deaf Hearing Communications Center
James Foster. Esq., Director, DAFN & Compliance, New York City Emergency Management
Eli Fresquez, Assistant General Counsel, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, New York City
Ather Sharif, Founder and Researcher, EvoXLabs
Vance Taylor, Chief, Office of Access and Functional Needs, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
Onleilove Alston, M.Div., MSW, Executive Director, Faith in New York
Sarah Buzogany, Food Resilience Planner, Baltimore Food Policy Initiative
Kristen Demaline, Senior Content Strategist, Bureau Blank
Jeanne-Aimee De Marrais, Sen. Director US Emergencies, Save the Children