FREED in collaboration with community partners is supporting personal emergency preparedness and COVID-19 protection efforts for people with disabilities and older adults with two Emergency Supplies/COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Drive-Thru Pick-up events in Grass Valley on February 16 and February 18 in Grass Valley and February 23 and February 25 in Yuba City.
The free drive-thru pick-up events are available to people of all ages and with any type of disability, older adults, family members, and caregivers. They will be held at following dates and locations:
FREED’s Grass Valley Office
435 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945
Tuesday, February 16th and Thursday, February 18th
10AM-4PM
FREED Yuba City Office
1100 Butte House Road, Suite 120, Yuba City, CA 95991
Tuesday, February 23rd and Thursday, February 25th
10AM-4PM
Over the last year we have experienced wildfires, Public Safety Power Shutoff events, and a world-wide pandemic. These disasters and other emergency events disproportionally impact people with disabilities and older adults. We need to work together to make a more resilient community for everyone.
The World Institute on Disability (WID) highlighted this issue when it found that people with disabilities often are not able to adequately prepare before or evacuate during disasters due to income inequality, limited access to affordable transportation, barriers to communication and digital accessibility, and being “logistically or socially isolated.” In the current pandemic we see Californians over age 65 represent 10.5% of COVID-19 cases but 73.8% of all COVID-19 deaths (source CDPH).
At these Emergency Supplies/COVID-19 PPE Drive-Thru Pick-up events, each person that attends will receive a complimentary bag that includes a hand-crank/solar powered radio, multipurpose flashlight tool, masks, face shields, flash drive to store important documents, hand sanitizer, and protective document folder filled with personal preparedness resources. Protective gowns and disposable gloves for caregivers will be available upon request.
All FREED staff and volunteers in attendance will be following the CDC and California Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 protective protocols. Please keep in mind that supplies are limited and there is no guarantee that there will be enough bags for everyone that attends these events. When you arrive, please follow the signs, and remain in your vehicle. A volunteer or staff member will approach your car once you are safely parked.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact FREED’s Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Brian Snyder at: (530) 477-3333 or brian@freed.org. If you would like to support FREED’s Emergency Preparedness Program, please visit the following link: http://freed.org/donate/#content.