How important is it for older adults and people with disabilities to plan for emergencies?

"It’s essential," says Vance Taylor. Older adults are among the fastest growing segment of California’s population, he says, yet few emergency officials know how many of the people they serve have real access or functional needs.

Taylor is chief of the California Office of Access and Functional Needs, part of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. He was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy as a child and uses a power wheelchair.

Taylor’s office identifies the needs of people with disabilities, older adults, and others, and integrates them into the state’s emergency management systems.

Such individuals can take steps before an emergency to make coping more likely, he says. For example, people who don’t drive can make a list of five people who might be called on to help during an evacuation. On the list might be a spouse, a parent or adult child, a trusted neighbor, a colleague, and a friend from church. "I cannot expect any one of those five to be available to help me at a moment’s notice," Taylor says, "but of the five, I can expect that somebody can.

"I recognize that (emergency planning for people with access or functional needs) is a challenge," he continues. "As we work together — community-based organizations, local government partners, state agencies, and individuals — we can achieve great things. We can do this. We will do it."

Taylor and the Office of Access and Functional Needs reflect the positive impacts of dedicated services for older Californians.