Overview

While the ideal location to survive a crisis is at home, a local designated emergency shelter may be better equipped to give you aid during a disaster than your current readiness allows for. Your “Refuge Recon” Mini-Mission is the high-level, strategic work that other citizens wouldn’t even think of doing – which instantly sets you apart from the likely victims of a disaster or crisis who will be scrambling around for solutions at the worst possible time.  By performing this exercise, you’ll be able to sleep easy at night knowing that you’ll have an instant response plan that includes a safe zone destination custom-selected for your needs.

Materials Needed

• Ability to search online
• Transportation to your chosen shelter location

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Assess Your Personal Needs: Not all shelters offer the same level of protection or care. Make a list of your personal “must-have” list of services and guidelines a shelter will need to accommodate you. Consider things like:
   
   
   • Do you have pets you’d bring with you?
   • Will you carry a firearm or other weapon on you?
   • Do you have a medical condition that would require an on-site physician?
   • Will the shelter have backup power for refrigerating prescription medicines?
   • Do you have health-related dietary restrictions?
2. ID Nearby “Official” Shelter Locations: Do an online search for your local government’s Emergency Services information and see if there is a designated shelter residents in your area are directed to go to in an emergency. See if there is additional information about exactly what accommodations are pre-planned for a crisis.
   
   
3. Make Contact: Regardless of any website’s listed services for the shelter you’ve chosen, make contact with that location’s Facility Manager or other representative who’s knowledgeable about their emergency response plan.  Confirm any information you found with them to ensure your needs will actually be accommodated in a crisis.
   
   
4. Perform A Visual Recon: Don’t rely solely on second-hand information. Upon your final selection, travel to your chosen shelter to do a visual reconnaissance of the route to the shelter, hardiness of the structure, size of the area to hold residents, and any other potential challenges that may present themselves when actually carrying out your plan.  If possible, try to shake hands with the Facility Manager or other representative to establish contact that could score you some extra “survival points” if you need any special attention during an emergency.