The National Shelter System and Physical Accessibility - Time to Look Under the Hood

National Shelter System

The Red Cross National Shelter System (NSS), developed in 2009, is a web-based portal, that contains information for over 56,000 potential emergency shelter facilities and is used to track and report shelter information during disasters. This system allows emergency managers and disaster workers to identify the location, managing agency, capacity, current population, and other relevant information of all shelters operated in response to disasters. NSS information assists the Red Cross, FEMA, state and local emergency management, and non-government organizations in developing strategies to ensure prompt and effective mass care services. NSS also serves as an emergency shelter planning tool and serves as a centralized database of all pre-surveyed facilities that could be used as shelters within the United States. New users to the site must self-register to access the system, however, this author made two attempts to register and received no promised confirming email that was to include instructions to complete the self-registration process. Access to a quick glimpse of NSS was achieved via looking via the assistance of a colleague.

There are four types of NSS shelters (Agency Type) according to the “User Guide National Shelter System,” Version 3.1 (January 7, 2009).They are:

1. Managed sites, staffed and financed by Red Cross. (Choice is limited to Red Cross operated shelters).

2. Supported, receives some assistance from Red Cross (may include bulk distribution, staff, or financial) but is not a Red Cross shelter. (Choice is limited to ARC operated shelters).

3. Partner, agency that partners with Red Cross to run the shelter with the agency’s staff, Red Cross trained; may or may not receive assistance (bulk distribution, staff, or financial) from Red Cross. (Choice is limited to non-ARC operated shelters).

4. Independent, receives no assistance of any kind from Red Cross. Will be entered into the system by other organization. (Choice is limited to non-ARC operated shelters). Be very careful when entering this information since the information listed in this field is very important to successfully querying data within the system.

The system provides pre-disaster facility information such as location, status, pre-event and post event capacity and anticipated operating agency. NSS is used for planning, tracking, supporting and reporting data on shelters. NSS is owned and operated by the American Red Cross, and data from this system is used by FEMA, state, local, tribal governments, and other non-governmental organizations to plan for, organize, and coordinate the resources necessary to support the needs of the disaster impacted community.

This system also includes physical accessibility site information derived from accessibility questions often integrated into surveys. Advanced planning for mass care typically involves ensuring that the sites will be stocked with necessities, such as food, water, and blankets. But planning must first determine if these sites are accessible to people with disabilities. Making emergency sheltering programs accessible includes physical, equipment, programmatic and effective communication access required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). People with disabilities are more likely to be heavily represented at mass care services due to many having low to no financial resources, fewer options to shelter at the homes of friends and family because of the lack of physical access (‘visitability’ (http://www.visitability.org/). Thus, they are more likely to use mass care services.