Emergency Preparedness for Mobilehome Communities: THE WORKBOOK is not just a response to a public need, but a drive to make emergency preparedness a community reality.
We all know it's important to stock up on water in the face of catastrophic events like earthquakes, wildfires, and hurricanes. But what are your options in a mobile home? What medicines should you store and what is the best way to do it? Do you buy one or more of those pre-made survival packs or build one yourself? What kind of lighting will you need during a power outage or a major emergency?
These are just a few of the dozens and dozens of choices you and your neighbors will be making in forming a community response team for your neighborhood.
Living in a mobile home community definitely has its advantages. Neighbors are close and can readily lend a hand. But natural disasters have taken a disproportionate toll on mobile home parks pointing to the necessity of an organized population to cope with the challenges.
Fortunately, most parks offer a perfect place for building a strong community preparedness culture. But it does take time and effort. THE WORKBOOK is aimed at SIMPLIFYING that process!
Emergency Preparedness for Mobilehome Communities was my first book on the topic. Based on my years of planning experience with emergency preparedness and disaster recovery challenges, it covers many aspects of preparedness, from (1) personal readiness to (2) getting more neighbors involved to (3) actually putting together a written neighborhood plan. Appendices of the book cover threats, recruitment ideas, legal cautions, training options, and emergency communications. Throughout I've listed additional proven resources.
While the book has been well received, readers have admitted to me that there was still too much for them to get their arms around!
So I wrote a companion - THE WORKBOOK.
It follows the same content flow, so you'll want to keep the book close at hand to refer to. But THE WORKBOOK is truly a workbook, as you'd expect. It has simple questions, and spaces for you to write your answers. Step by step, you'll be taking action . . .
- Answering questions to help set personal priorities
- Researching what planning has already been done
- Making sure park management is on board
- Finding and inviting interested neighbors
- Getting training for yourself and your team
- Learning about park infrastructure, utilities, etc.
- Picking which disasters to plan for
- Meeting the First Responders that serve your community
- Planning and holding meetings for all your park neighbors
