Long Beach is trying to better accommodate people with sensory needs during high-stress situations like emergencies and natural disasters.
To do that, the city recently purchased a portable trailer designed to offer a calm, quiet break for people with conditions or disabilities that can cause them to be overstimulated or dysregulated in noisy or overwhelming environments.
The trailer, called the Sensory Area For Everyone vehicle, was purchased with Homeland Security Grant funding provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It cost $34,000, according to Jennifer Rice Epstein, a spokesperson for Long Beach’s Health Department.
The soundproofed trailer has low lighting and air conditioning, and items like weighted lap pads, noise-canceling ear muffs, tactile walls and spinning carousels — items that are often helpful for people with sensory-processing issues, which are a common symptom of autism but not always associated with being on the spectrum.
The trailer is one way the city is trying to make sure that “everyone, regardless of their abilities, would have equal access to necessary services, resources and support during crises,” Rice Epstein said in an email.
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According to the city, there are 50,214 people in Long Beach who identified themselves as disabled in the latest U.S. Census data.
Long Beach hasn’t yet had occasion to deploy the Sensory Area For Everyone vehicle, but Rice Epstein said the city is planning to roll it out soon for community events or other loud, busy places where it could be beneficial.
You can learn more about the Sensory Area For Everyone vehicle and the city’s disability, access and functional needs program here.