People with disabilities can access only 12 percent of Lithuania’s shelters

People with disabilities say reaching emergency shelters is their biggest concern, LRT reported, as practical crisis-preparedness training was held in five regions of Lithuania. More than 80 percent of the country’s shelters are not adapted for people with disabilities.

Irma Varnaitytė, a wheelchair user from Kaunas who attended the training, said she was most worried that she might not get the help she needed during a crisis. “There is panic. They say they will come and take people with disabilities who have limited mobility or cannot move in their wheelchairs. Everything is fine during exercises, but in an emergency people panic,” she said.

Jolanta Beresnevičienė, head of the Kaunas Region Association of People with Disabilities, said access to shelters was a major problem, particularly for people living alone. “You wake up and don’t know where to go. If it happens at night, and the person with a disability lives alone, it is a problem: which service will come, who will arrive, what should you prepare? How can someone who cannot walk get into a shelter? Basements all have stairs, so it is difficult,” she said.

Lithuania has more than 6,500 shelters, of which over 800, or about 12 percent, are adapted for people with disabilities. Vilnius has the largest number. Municipalities are buying stair climbers and special bridging equipment to improve access, but these measures are not always enough.

Some older buildings are difficult to adapt, said Dainius Raubūnas, a preparedness officer in Kaunas District. In many cases, he said, changes or the installation of equipment are not possible because of narrow spaces and doorways.

According to the LT72 website, 13 municipalities have no shelters adapted for people with disabilities: Alytus, Ignalina, Jonava, Kupiškis, Molėtai, Panevėžys, Plungė, Prienai, Raseiniai, Rokiškis and Tauragė districts, as well as Druskininkai and Kalvarija.

Ginta Žemaitaitytė-Buinevičė, a project manager at the Union of People with Disabilities, said not all municipalities know how many vehicles they have that can transport wheelchair users, or which shelters are accessible.

Disability organisations are also urging their members to prepare for emergencies rather than rely solely on outside help, including by planning for evacuation and considering their health needs. Žemaitaitytė-Buinevičė said people should know how to dismantle their own wheelchairs if they need to be evacuated. Red Cross Society first-aid instructor Julija Koroliova said people with disabilities can adapt to different situations and help others.

The training sessions covered first aid, preparing an evacuation plan and packing a go bag.