Surprise, AZ News blog

The city of Surprise is inviting individuals with disabilities, senior citizens and caregivers to attend the free Emergency Preparedness Summit, January 12.

The summit is from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Radiant Church, 15522 W. Paradise Lane.
This event is designed to assist people who are experiencing vision or hearing loss, mobility loss and cognitive disabilities, as well as their caregivers, with how best to prepare for an emergency situation. American Sign Language interpreters and captioning will be provided.

The Surprise Police and Fire Department will talk about the types of emergencies that could happen in the West Valley. The Salvation Army and Red Cross will discuss the use of temporary shelters.

“A major storm that floods an area of our city or knocks out power for days will affect all people, but could be an even greater emergency for those with disabilities,” says Surprise Disability Advocate Nanette Bowles. “That’s why this summit is so important, to help people with disabilities, senior citizens and caregivers learn what they need to do to stay safe in an emergency situation.”

Various agency booths will be located in the lobby to provide additional information. Some of these agencies and speakers include the Arizona Red Cross, Salvation Army, Arizona Bridge to Independent Living, Arizona Commission for the Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing, APS, Interfaith Community Care, United Cerebral Palsy, National Foundation for the Blind, and many more.

This event is free, but registration is required and seating is limited. Registration and requests for reasonable accommodations need to be made as soon as possible to Surprise Disability Advocate Nanette Bowles at 623-222-3821 (Voice) / 623-222-3802 (VP/TTY) or at nanette.bowles@surpriseaz.com .