ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments

F. Shelter Environment

• Offer orientation and wayfinding assistance to people who are blind or have low vision. Until they become familiar with the shelter layout, blind people and those with low vision may have difficulty locating different areas of the shelter. Even after they are oriented to the shelter environment, changes in furniture layout or the addition or removal of cots may be disorienting to people who rely on these landmarks to find their way around. When they arrive at a shelter, people who are blind and those with low vision might need assistance orienting themselves to the shelter layout and locating pathways to sleeping areas, toilet rooms, and other areas of the shelter they may wish to use. Offer, but do not insist, on providing orientation and wayfinding assistance. Some people who are blind or have low vision need such assistance. Others can, and prefer to, find their own way. 

• Maintain accessible routes. Cots and other furniture need to be placed to ensure that accessible routes – routes that people who use wheelchairs, crutches, or walkers can navigate – connect all features of the shelter. For instance, accessible routes need to connect the sleeping quarters to the food distribution and dining quarters, to the toilet rooms and bathing facilities, activity areas, etc. Generally, an accessible route is 36 inches wide, except at doors and for short distances, when it can be narrower, and where it turns, when it must be wider. More guidance on accessible routes is provided in the “ADA Checklist for Emergency Shelters” at www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7shelterchk.htm. 

• Eliminate protruding objects in areas where people can walk. Furniture and other items should be positioned to direct pedestrians who are blind or have low vision safely away from overhead or protruding objects. This requirement extends beyond the “accessible route” and applies throughout the shelter environment to any place where a person can walk. Hazards posed by protruding and overhead objects can typically be eliminated by placing a cane-detectable barrier on the floor beneath or next to them. But care should be taken so cane-detectable barriers do not block accessible routes or the clear floor space that people using mobility devices need to access common protruding objects such as drinking fountains. For more guidance on protruding objects, please see please see the “ADA Checklist for Emergency Shelters” at www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7shelterchk.htm. 

• Consider low-stimulation “stress-relief zones.” The stress from the noise and crowded conditions of a shelter – combined with the stress of the underlying emergency – may aggravate some disability-related conditions, such as autism, anxiety disorders, or migraine headaches. Without periodic access to a “quiet room” or quiet space within a larger room, some people with disabilities will be unable to function in a shelter environment. In locations where a school gym serves as the emergency shelter, a nearby classroom can provide the necessary relief from noise and interaction that some shelter residents and volunteers with disabilities will need. Other shelter residents and volunteers may want a break from the noise and crowds. But quiet spaces are limited, they should be made available on a priority basis to people whose disabilities are aggravated by stress or noise. 

• Consult residents with disabilities regarding placement of their cots. Some individuals will have disability-related needs that require accommodation when assigning the location of their cot. For instance, a person who uses a wheelchair, crutches, or a walker may need a cot located close to an accessible toilet room. Since an assigned cot may not be identifiable by touch, a blind person may need a cot placed in a location that she can easily find. A person with low vision may need his bed located close to light so he can see or away from bright light that aggravates his eyes. Likewise, someone who is deaf or hard of hearing may need a cot placed away from visual distractions that would prevent him from sleeping.