Reintroducing The Issue Of Community Prep

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) Preparation Forum : One Thread

I'm not thinking so much of the almost unsolvable debate of whether or not to prep in isolation from or with your community (a tough call and milage varies hugely depending on location) but, for those of you who ARE working with your communities and/or churches, where do things stand TODAY? Y2K is dynamic and August, 1999 is both better and worse than January 1999 for community readiness.

Can you share some experiences of what IS working, what isn't working and how you see the next five months playing out for your own community being ready or not?

Again, I'm asking for posts from people who are ACTIVE in community prepping.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), August 02, 1999

Answers

Kauai is working on further enhancing community awareness through Farm Fair booth, and many other activities. (Already had a round-robin of community awareness meetings.) Also working on such things as alcohol fuel manufacture and engine conversions.

I see the effort as being worthwhile, but don't expect everyone to be prepared...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), August 02, 1999.


Well Big Dog, I can sum it up as thus: It ain't happening. After several meetings we hosted for Y2K consisting of people from our church and the area (we never had more than 20 people show up at once) only 3 besides ourselves are preparing. In addition, those preparing have limited resources (like us, no house, we sold it recently, don't yet know if its a blessing) or a lack of money that makes things tough.

The affluent ones who could make SIGNIFICANT preparations either are trying to find the time for the last year or come to the meetings for a good laugh. Well, almost. Just tonight I got a call from good friends of ours who pretty much just laugh at us (correction, husband laughs, wife looks concerned but still doesn't want to spend money preparing). They have running water in the house, but they are remodeling the bathroom, the toilet is out, and the plumber can't make it back for a week. They've been staying in a motel but it's too expensive. He knows I have a good chemical toilet so he asked where he could buy one and how much they cost. I told him approx. $100. That was too much, but could he borrow mine, or stay at our place for a few days? Borrow my toilet? That's my lesson in community preparedness! And they make maybe 50K a year more than we do!

We are probably going to stop the meetings, as they have been completely non-productive, IMHO. So far it has only served to make us a target and caused problems for us in the church.

For the community personally I'm going to try and take an EMT class in September and do volunteer fire/ambulance. My state has an EXTREME shortage of volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel. We've done our part for the community. Time to look out for ourselves.

-- Retroman (retro50@agapeis.net), August 02, 1999.


I had no luck whatsoever in approaching my church on the subject. Our church *does* have Red Cross Certification as a disaster shelter (got this last month) so I am working on a different approach now. People think I am crazy for being worried.

-- mommacares (harringtondesignX@earthlink.net), August 03, 1999.

You've seen my posts on the other forum, I am sure, but for the sake of those coming to this forum and learning from others about their success or lack thereof in helping others to GI, I have found just what everyone on every forum I've visited has found: that there are very, very few who want to GI, who then will act upon that knowledge, and then work hard at preparing. In my church I have stood firm in my position that preparedness is absolutely essential, and for several months to a year minimum, and have stood against popular opinion, including that of the man who should have properly lead the Y2K Committee he didn't appoint (until late and only via e-mail!)

When I spoke to the Vestry, they looked very serious, and followed my pastor, who thanked me and clapped for my efforts. I left them 10 fat folders, plus a HUGE one to the man who said he'd head the Vestry's efforts. The following Sunday the new head of this leading body hugged and thanked me and said "We have a long way to go and a lot to do." I do not know at this time what that means they will prepare for, or for whom, but it is better than it would have been if I hadn't insisted on fighting to be heard. However, individually only a few couples have begun to prepare. Other than one couple who learned last year at a church in Delaware at an all-day workshop how to REALLY prepare...and they've bought a farm in W. VA, lucky guys!

Neighborhood...forget it! I tried to arouse interest in having a neighborhood gathering on my "courtyard." People now avoid me, I notice, and the reception to my brief for-starters explanations of what they needed to do to prep met with derisive grins and comments. One said, when she turned over my water barrels left with her by UPS, "Now I'll know where to come for water." The man in my church who's saying we don't need to prepare said to the group, "Those who prepare can share with those who don't," if anything did happen!!!

Small successes: the hairdresser and her kids won't fly back to spend Christmas thru mid-Jan in their Latin American native country. (But my favorite neighbor is still planning to go on her cruise with a group of widows!) A few say they will prepare for "a couple of days" to "a couple of weeks." Three families at church who are friends are preparing, but far more slowly than I, to my consternation. (If I had money to work with mor speedily, I'd be long done, believe me!)

It's very, very sad, but I've found that one must move on and just do one's own preps and hope that before it is too late, some GI.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), August 03, 1999.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ