The Commons · People first
Preparedness is strongest when it begins with the people most likely to be missed by a one-size-fits-all plan: children, older neighbors, people with disabilities, caregivers, and families without reliable transportation or digital access.
Ask what support is actually useful.
Do not assume that age or disability tells you what someone needs. Ask how they prefer to receive information, whether they need help evacuating, which equipment depends on power, and whom they trust to assist. The plan should support independence and dignity, not replace a person’s own judgment.
Build around real routines.
- Children: identify approved pickup adults, reunification locations, comfort items, medications, and age-appropriate ways to explain the plan.
- Older adults: review transportation, mobility, medication, hearing, vision, communication, and power needs with the person and any caregiver.
- People with disabilities: plan for accessible alerts, service animals, mobility devices, backup power, communication aids, and an accessible route out.
- Caregivers: keep written care instructions, current contacts, prescriptions, and a clear handoff plan if the usual caregiver cannot arrive.
- People without reliable transportation: identify at least two realistic rides and learn what local paratransit, evacuation, or shelter assistance requires.
- People without digital access: use direct calls, printed notices, door-to-door check-ins, radio, and a small phone tree in addition to apps.
Create a support circle.
Choose at least two trusted people who understand the plan. Give each person only the information needed for the role. Decide who has a key, who can transport a person or service animal, who knows how essential equipment works, and who will call if a warning is issued.
Keep private information private. A neighborhood does not need a public list of diagnoses, medications, or disabilities. The people responsible for helping need accurate, current information and clear consent.
Make the home easier to leave safely.
Keep paths clear, label essential supplies, place frequently used mobility equipment where it can be reached, and consider alerting devices that use sound, light, vibration, or more than one method. If medical equipment requires electricity, ask the provider and utility about appropriate backup planning before an outage.
Practice without taking over.
Walk through the plan with the person, at their pace. Test the route, the alert, the transportation, and the way essential equipment will travel. Record what does not work and change the plan.
A resilient community does not plan for people. It plans with them.