News

From left to right: Tim Morse (USM), Brian Adams (Hancock County EMA), Rupert Lacy (Harrison County EMA) and Ben Midgette (DuPont).

The DuPont DeLisle site is helping local emergency response agencies prepare for the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. The site donated 115 communication picture boards to the Harrison & Hancock County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) for use in emergency shelters.

Communication picture boards are used with people who do not speak English, or those with complex communication needs, to aid in understanding in the event of an emergency. The boards use graphic representations coupled with text in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

This one-of-a-kind program was created in partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast (USM) and the United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC). It will serve as a model for similar programs across the country.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and will continue through early November.