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Keep life going ยท Movement

Fit the Route to the Person.

A route that works on a map may fail at the stairs, locked gate, steep block, missing bus, dead battery, or transfer point. Walk the actual route with the actual person and equipment.

Test one ordinary trip as a backup route.

Choose a trip that matters: leaving home, reaching care, collecting a child, getting medicine, or reaching a safer building. Note every door, curb, elevator, slope, surface, transfer, and assistance point.

Write down what happens if the usual vehicle, driver, chair, lift, transit line, bridge, or caregiver is unavailable.

Plan the whole movement chain.

Leave the building

Know alternate exits, stair plans, areas of refuge where established, garage releases, gate keys, elevator limits, and who may safely help with equipment.

Move through the route

Check surfaces, lighting, bridges, slopes, flood points, wildfire zones, winter closures, fuel or charging, transit operations, and a second direction.

Carry the essentials

Keep device model and serial information, chargers, batteries, repair tools, communication needs, medication, service-animal supplies, and safe lifting instructions available.

Arrange transport

Confirm vehicle space, securement, transfer assistance, pickup point, notice time, cost, and what happens when the first provider cannot operate.

Build alternatives without taking away control.

Mobility assistance

Ask how the person wants to be helped. Do not move someone or their device without consent unless an immediate life threat makes that impossible.

Public and paratransit users

Ask providers and emergency management about service changes, evacuation assistance, registration limits, pickup communication, and backup options.

Children and caregiving

Plan authorized pickup, car seats, strollers, school reunification, and how one caregiver moves multiple people or devices.

Longer interruptions

Roads, fuel, charging, repairs, transit, delivery, and accessible vehicles are shared systems. Identify more than one provider and a safe place to wait.

No route plan overrides a closure or evacuation instruction. Do not cross floodwater, damaged bridges, active fire areas, unstable slopes, downed lines, or closed roads to keep an appointment.

Practice assistance before it is urgent.

A support person should know the preferred method, equipment limits, communication cues, and what they are not trained to do. The person receiving help remains the expert on their own routine.

FEMA disability guidance emphasizes accessible transportation alternatives, support networks, mobility devices, communication aids, and plans for both staying and leaving. FEMA disability preparedness guide.

Current public help

Find Official Help for current local authorities, alerts, utilities, health guidance, roads, weather, or shelters.

Reviewed July 25, 2026 against FEMA disability preparedness guide. Recheck official instructions before publication and during any interruption.