Project Description:
PROJECT ACTIVITIES FY 2018:
Project Research & Education in Disaster and Disability (REDD)
Project REDD staff had a busy beginning to the Fall 2017 semester when Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25th. The university delayed opening for two days. With support from AUCD and AIDD, Project REDD was able to develop the REDDy (REsources on Disaster and Disability), which is a guide to services and resources for people with disabilities and their families affected by Hurricane Harvey. The REDDy Directory is a collaboration between the Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University and the Texas Center for Disability Studies at the University of Texas.
The REDDy (Resources for Disasters and Disability) Directory is a dynamic online resource directory which addresses the disaster recovery needs of individuals with disabilities affected by Hurricane Harvey. The purpose of the REDDy Directory is to provide a searchable resource guide to disability-related resources, organizations, and supplies for those affected by disaster. A secondary purpose is to design an online template which can be used in a variety of other disasters and easily transferable for use by organizations in other states. The REDDy Directory provides informational support from FEMA, governmental organizations, cities, and towns on resources available to the general public. As many families relocate following disasters, a statewide, rather than local, directory was designed to best facilitate long-term recovery. A secondary aim of the REDDy Directory therefore is to provide case managers (who often have limited knowledge of disability-related needs) with up-to-date information and contact information on disability-related resources. A third aim of the REDDy is to increase knowledge that disability-related organizations have about organizations providing disaster-related resources. As the REDDy Directory can be directly searched, disability organizations can use this information to support and inform their own client, patient, or advocate base. A fourth aim was to test this resource directory model for future disaster purposes. The REDDy Directory has been widely disseminated throughout Texas, both through electronic means and through the dissemination of 10,000 REDDy Rulers which give basic information about the Directory. During the last 10 months information about the REDDy Directory has been disseminated to FEMA, the State of Texas Department of Emergency Management, the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster, Long-Term Recovery Committees, Disaster Recovery Centers, and hundreds of offices of emergency management. Project staff have applied for funding from several sources to continue this work throughout the next several years.
Over 2017-2018, Project REDD staff participated in publishing several articles, including one with a trainee:
Stough, L. M., & North. C. S. (2018). The association of adverse mental health effects with repeated exposure to disasters. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 30(1), 17-24.
Ducy, E. M., & Stough, L. M. (2018). Teacher perspectives on grief among children with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Loss and Trauma. 10.1080/15325024.2018.1434859
Stough, L.M. (2017, September). What comes after Hurricane Harvey for people with disabilities? Restoring, recovering, and rebuilding. Research Counts. Boulder, CO. Natural Hazards Center. https://hazards.colorado.edu/news/research-counts/what-comes- after-hurricane-harvey-for-people-with-disabilities-restoring-recovering-and-rebuilding
Also a newsletter article:
Stough, L.M. (2018, June). Texas Disability Task Force on Emergency Management, Texas Disability Integration Newsletter, 4(1), 1.
Project REDD also engaged in several presentations:
Stough, L. M. (2018, April). Disability and Disaster. Invited presentation at the annual Autism Conference at the Virgin Islands University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. University of the Virgin Islands.
Stough, L. M., Kang, D. & Lee, S. (2018, February). Disasters in schools: Implications for teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southwest Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
Stough, L. M. (2017, November). Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria: Effects on people with disabilities. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Washington, DC.
Project REDD maintains communication with the Texas Governor's Office on Disability, the State of Texas Office of Emergency Management, Texas Disability Rights, Texas Interfaith Disaster Response, Central Texas Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster, Gulf Coast Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster, the National Center on Post Traumatic Stress Disaster, the University of Texas Southwest Medical School, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, the Independent Living Research Utilization center at The Institution for Rehabilitation Research Memorial Hermann Hospital, and the American Association on Health and Disabilities as well as other organizations. Project REDD has established linkages with other UCEDDs who are also conducting research in this area including UCEDDs at the University of New Mexico, the University of Kansas, Utah State University, the University of Wyoming, the University of Southern Mississippi, the Temple UCEDD, and the University of Delaware UCEDD. Project REDD responds on a weekly basis to emails or calls from fire departments, police departments, MHMR offices,
Total Funding FY 2018: $71,172
 Center on Disability and Development Core Grant: $5,000
 Stough, L. M. (2018). REsources for disaster and disability (REDDy) directory.
Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 3/1/2018-8/31/2018.
$39,393.
 Stough, L. M. (2017). Resources for disasters and disability directory for individuals
with disabilities and their families experiencing the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
Association of University Centers on Disabilities. 9/11/2017-11/11/2017. $25,779.
The Diversity Leadership Fellows provided valuable capacity in the two months following Hurricane Harvey. Under the direction of Dr. Laura Stough they assisted in locating and updating disability-related services and resources available to survivors of Hurricane Harvey. Through joint support through AUCD and AIDD, Project REDD (Research and Education on Disability and Disasters) was able to launch the REDDy (REsources on Disaster and Disability) Directory, which included results from their collaboration. Having the Fellows participation resulted in a meaningful final project for each of them.
