By: Jay Loeffers

Hello my NoisyRoom friends! How are you? Today, let’s look into the neighborhood you live in and your neighbors that are around you… do you really know any of them? Do they know you? Did you give them a house warming welcome when they moved in? We are going to talk about some basic rule of thumb ideas for a neighborhood crisis plan during a natural disaster. Like Katrina or like a WROL situation… Like London went through last year. And make no mistake, that is going to happen sooner than later here. We all need to pull together on this regardless of political and religious beliefs.

YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Look at and around your neighborhood and let me ask you this… is it a newly built area? Is it in an open area or in a cul-de-sac? Is it an apartment unit or a trailer park? Is it near a main freeway/highway or is it in the middle of nowhere with few access roads? All of these considerations are a vital part of the crisis plan.

Your neighborhood and surroundings will determine what kind of security you will use and the type of firearms, if any, you might employ (hint: if in a close knit trailer park, I would not carry a .357 magnum and a .308 rifle – way too much power).

Are there areas you can use as checkpoints or a fall back position? Is there a blind spot a person or a large group can out flank you with? Are there tool or storage sheds or public bathrooms/showers someone could hide out in?

The physical makeup of each kind of neighborhood will help with these considerations. It will determine how you will patrol, investigate and defend this area in times of crisis. It would not hurt for you to sometime during the week walk around, look around and map out the neighborhood. Find the weak points, ways in and out. You might even drive around and get the fastest routes in and out, as well as the shortcuts down.

YOUR NEIGHBORS (DO YOU KNOW THEM?)

So, what’s the overall makeup of your neighbors? Do you have a lot of divorced single parents? Maybe some retired military or active police live there? Are they newly moved in newlyweds? Maybe newly sworn in immigrants? (I still find these people so interesting to know and talk to.) It would behoove you to know them and talk to them. A great way of doing this is to have a summertime “know your neighbors” block party, potluck dinner. This is a fun, wholesome and inexpensive way to get the whole neighborhood together to talk and have a great time. You will get to know each other better and watch the kids and dogs wear each other out.

Then after a couple of these parties, you can get them together and have crisis plan neighborhood meetings. Most of them will be open to this idea, but be prepared that some might think it’s radical and over the top. That’s fine… nothing you can do about that. During this meeting, ask these questions or talk about: What skill sets and or what life experience does each neighbor bring to the table? What are their strong points or weak points? Are they in the right frame of mind set? Are they prepared or looking into being prepared? What do they do for a living and how would this help the neighborhood? Are they willing to teach others? Are they willing to learn new skill sets?

These are a few small suggestions on getting your neighborhood together for forming lasting bonds and memories. It will also help you get a crisis plan going to help each other out when the S.H.T.F. In most cases, most neighborhoods will be cut off with no services and it’s dangerous to wait for FEMA or any other government agencies for help. My YouTube buddy, NUTNFANCY, has made many life philosophy videos on this very subject. Check him out, he’s a retired UNITED STATES AIRFORCE pilot. He has life views that are not politically correct and he is a goofy and funny guy with a point.