HILLSBOROUGH: Town hall to host shelter simulation Friday 

An emergency shelter overnight simulation for individuals with disabilities will be held Friday, Nov. 20, starting at 5 p.m. at the Hillsborough Municipal Complex, 279 South Branch Road.
About 50 people with disabilities have volunteered to spend a night at the shelter, which will be staffed by volunteers from a number of Somerset County agencies engaged in emergency response operations during a disaster.
The Alliance Center for Independence hosted an emergency shelter simulation last year at Rutgers University.
Participating agencies will include the Somerset County Office of Emergency Management, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, local social service agencies and other stakeholders. Funding for the simulation is provided by PSEG.
The purpose of the exercise is to familiarize members of the disabled community with an overnight shelter experience. At the same time, it provides emergency managers and volunteers an opportunity to understand and better assist the needs of individuals with disabilities in a general population shelter during a disaster.
Through this exercise, members of the disability community, local jurisdictions and nonprofit emergency responders can exercise their training, knowledge and protocols in a “real world” situation of operating a general population shelter with individuals with various disabilities.
The shelter exercise will run from 5 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday. Round table discussions will be held throughout the evening.
Accessible buses will provide transportation to participants from the ACI office, 629 Amboy Ave., Edison, as well as from the Somerset County Office on Aging and Disability Services at 27 Warren St. in Somerville. Dinner and breakfast will be provided. Participants will receive a $25 gift card as well as Emergency Preparedness GO Bags provided by the N.J. Division of Disability Services.
The Alliance Center for Independence is a community-based, grassroots organization that supports and promotes independent living for people with disabilities in Middlesex, Union and Somerset counties. 