5 First Steps for a Resident

As a Resident, you care about your community and you worry that you and your neighbors are unprepared. You want to make sure the members of your household and the people who live near you are ready for emergencies in terms of resources, skills, and a plan. Follow our recommended 5 First Steps to get started.

1. Prepare Your Household

This step is part of the foundation of Prepare Your Community, which consists of Household- and Street-Level Readiness.

To prepare your Household, work through each of the 9 Lifelines at the Household Level. Alternatively, you can follow the Ready in 12 plan, which gives you one readiness activity per month over the course of a year.

2. Work with Neighbors to Ready Your Street

This step is also part of the Foundation of Prepare Your Community.

Reach out to some neighbors to look for interest in implementing the Ready Your Street program on your street. Set up a meeting with all neighbors or find a neighbor willing to take on that responsibility. Distribute the Ready Your Street flip chart to everyone, select a Street-Level Meeting Place, create a map of your Street and where utility shutoffs are located, and list each household's human and animal occupants, any special needs, and any emergency-related skills. These skills might include nursing, electrician experience, map-making abilities, or anything that could relate to helping you and your neighbors recover from a disaster.

Find out how to launch the Ready Your Street program here:

3. Take a CPR, First Aid, and Stop the Bleed Class

These classes are the most important ones for saving a life. Make sure you are prepared for helping your family and the people who live nearby.

4. Volunteer for Your Community's Anytown Prepares Organization

If your community doesn't have an emergency preparedness organization, then volunteer for any organization that addresses the topic of emergency preparedness. Maybe there's a local Medical Reserve Corps or a ham radio club. Consider the Rotary Club or a caregiver organization or a local pet shelter.

5. Share What You’ve Learned

The best way to increase resilience is to get everyone prepared. Reach out tof amily and friends in your community and elsewhere to tell them how they might prepare their own Households and Streets.

Celebrate!

If you've followed all our recommendations and accomplished the tasks we set out here, congratulations! Even if you haven't, congratulations are in order if you're taking steps toward preparedness in your community.

What you're doing is so important but it's also very labor intensive. Remember to celebrate your accomplishments. Maybe it's time for a party to acknowledge the milestones you've reached.

If you've managed to get through all 5 steps, think about getting involved at a deeper level. Consider becoming a Community Champion and helping your enetire community become more resilient. Or focus your efforts on your street and keeping everyone ready.

The more you do, the more you will see there is to be done. Remember: You will never achieve complete preparedness. You don't need to. Just keep moving in the right direction, doing the best you can.