Safe and Equal in EMErgencies

ended

Project SEE ME (Safe and Equal in EMErgencies) is a project aiming to contribute to the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities (PwD) in emergencies. PwD face considerable barriers in different areas of their social life, despite the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006, and the 2010-2020 European Disability Strategy followed by the national ones. This particularly refers to inadequate access to and the provision of protection and rescue during emergencies, resulting from the lack of common standards in protection and rescue of PwD. Although PwDs are recognized as a particularly vulnerable group, their right to equal rights and opportunities in emergencies is often neglected in local emergency response plans and civil protection procedures. PwD are excluded from decision-making in the emergency planning and management system. First responders are not trained either in the specifics of rescue and protection of different disability groups. All of the above makes this most vulnerable group in emergencies even more vulnerable. In the light of the above mentioned, the aim of the project is to improve the safety and equality of the PwD in emergencies through: - Awareness-raising campaign on equal rights in emergencies, - Analysis of gaps and needs in the provision of protection and rescue to the PwD, - Collection and exchange of best practices, expertise and planning, - Development of Guidelines related to protection and rescue of PwD in emergencies, along with protocols for emergency assistance and inclusion of PwDs in civil protection prevention and planning activities, - Implementation of guidelines through different models: 1. as procedures presented in GIS system assisting rescuers in locating and rescuing PwDs; 2. implementation through development of first responder training programs; 3. implementation through the application of the protocols in local emergency response plans.