To make shelter management more inclusive:
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Ensure shelter management committees have gender-balanced representation of all at-risk groups in the community, including those who are most often forgotten: persons with sensory and psychosocial disabilities, women and girls with disabilities and people from marginalized ethnic or cultural minorities.
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Nominate an accessibility focal point in the committee, who ensures the accessibility is regularly considered in meeting agendas for enhancing the accessibility of existing and new shelters.
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Nominate persons from at-risk groups, including women and persons with disabilities, as focal points in the committee for collecting information on shelter specific needs of community members, handling complaints, suggestions and requests.
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Consider how persons with reduced mobility (including persons with disabilities, older persons or pregnant women) can reach shelters and will interact with the environment in and around shelters. Factors other than the shelter facilities, such as topography, surface water drainage and soil quality can determine whether persons with different types of disabilities can participate in daily activities or become isolated inside shelters.
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Maintain a list of accessible shelters in the community, accessibility codes applicable to the community and accessibility experts for quick deployment in case of need.
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Persons with disabilities and their families should be allocated shelters that are close to public latrines and washrooms, health clinics and or other community centres and distribution points while taking care not to separate them from the community and family links.
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Pay specific attention to safety and protection of women and girls with disabilities. Provide light in latrines and washrooms where the person needs privacy, accessible locking system of doors, and security personnel that are sensitized on gender and disability.
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Ensure that medical supplies and assistive devices, needed by older persons, persons with disabilities or pregnant women, are available in stock at shelters.