This month, Rolling Start’s Emergency Preparedness team has been out in the community delivering portable electric battery generators to individuals who rely on power-dependent medical equipment. Led by our Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Genesis, these deliveries represent more than just equipment—they represent safety, independence, and peace of mind.
These rechargeable battery generators are designed to provide backup power during outages and emergencies. For many of our consumers, they are essential to keeping life-saving medical equipment running, including ventilators, oxygen concentrators, power wheelchairs, and other critical electrical devices.
By delivering these batteries directly to people’s homes, our team was also able to provide hands-on education, showing consumers how to safely use and maintain their equipment so they can feel confident and prepared when emergencies happen.
These batteries were distributed through the Disability Disaster Access & Resources (DDAR) program, a statewide initiative that supported people with disabilities and access needs through emergency preparedness planning and backup battery resources.
Unfortunately, Southern California Edison has ended its funding for the DDAR program, and as a result, the program is no longer available as of October 31, 2025, despite the countless lives it has helped protect.
The loss of DDAR puts people who depend on electrically powered medical equipment at serious risk during wildfire-related power shut-offs, heat waves, and natural disasters. For many individuals with disabilities, backup power is not a convenience, it is a necessity.
Rolling Start cannot stand by while essential supports disappear.
If you or someone you love depends on power for health, safety, or independence, now is the time to speak up.
Share your story with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
Contact Southern California Edison
Reach out to disability advocacy organizations and local representatives
Let decision-makers know that people with disabilities need reliable access to backup power, and that programs like DDAR should be restored and expanded, not cut.
Together, we can raise our voices and work to protect our community.
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