Community preparedness

Your neighbors are part of the emergency plan.

A strong household matters. A street full of households that can communicate, share information and help one another is stronger.

Prepared does not have to mean isolated.

FEMA's National Resilience Guidance specifically points to strong, trusting relationships with friends, family, coworkers and neighbors as part of resilience. Those relationships can provide information, practical help and emotional support when normal systems are disrupted.

Someone has the thing you do not.

A neighborhood may already contain medical experience, tools, a truck, a chainsaw, generator knowledge, pet help, childcare, language skills or a safe place to cool down.

Someone may need the thing you can do.

Checking on an older neighbor, charging one phone, sharing verified information or helping move a fallen branch can matter without becoming responsible for an entire neighborhood.

Communication prevents chaos.

Knowing who to text, where to meet and who may need checking on is more useful than discovering all of that after the power and cell service are already failing.

Community still gets boundaries.

Mutual aid does not require publishing every supply you own, sharing sensitive information or giving anyone unrestricted access to your home.

The goal is not "every house for itself." It is capable households connected to capable people.

How to start without sounding like a prepper recruiting committee

Use the weather. It is normal, local and gives everyone a reason to talk about the same problem.

After an outage: "That power outage was a mess. Want to swap numbers in case one of us needs something next time?"

Before a storm: "Looks like we may get rough weather. If cell service gets weird, do you want to have a place on the street where we check in?"

Skills, not stockpiles: "I am trying to figure out who nearby knows generators, first aid, chainsaws or repairs so we are not all figuring it out from scratch during a storm."

Checking on people: "Do you have anyone nearby who checks on you when the weather gets bad? If not, I am happy to knock or text."

Useful things to know

Who may need a check-in
Who has first-aid or medical training
Who understands generators or electrical equipment
Who has transportation or a truck
Who can help with pets or children
Where verified local information comes from

Things you do not need to advertise

How much food or cash you store
Weapons or security details
Passwords, account information or documents
Medication details that are not relevant to helping
Valuables or exact inventory
Anything a neighbor has not agreed to share

Make one connection before the next outage.

You do not need a neighborhood committee. One exchanged phone number, one agreed check-in point or one person who knows you may need help is already more resilient than zero.

Source: FEMA National Resilience Guidance, August 2024. LIVSOLV uses community preparedness to mean voluntary communication, mutual aid and practical resilience with reasonable privacy and safety boundaries.