Community preps

[Tennessee Mountaineer]

Hi y'all. I live in a rural community in East Tn. The biggest thing in town is Walmart! I'd like to discuss the differences between how city folks and country folk prep.

Bugging out to the city isn't really an option for most folks here. We figure that we can expect to be isolated from services for a while in a weather disaster, civil disturbance etc. The recent Ice storms in Ky this winter were a big heads up to many of us There are a lot of people out of work here too, Appalachia has never been an economic hot bed, so a lot of folks cannot afford to spend the extra cash on preps although most folk have food stored and/or some type of garden going.

What many folks have expressed an interest in is forming what we like to call a Citizens Readiness Group that is part CERT team and part mutual aid society. We felt it was better to build community infrastructure then adopt an everyman for themselves plan like people in the city have too.
 
The idea is that each individual is expected to prep as best they can but has also has commitment from the other members for mutual aid. I.E your house burns down we help you out with food, shelter etc or in an bad winter storm we would do a welfare check on your family if you can't. It's a good neighbor type of thing. We came to this conclusion because of the expense of preps for a lot of out of work people. While we can trap,garden etc fairly easy EMS services are very limited here so we need to have an auxiliary group to augment them.  It works because we all know each other rather well and have developed a certain amount of trust.


 Here's an outline of how we think we can organize it-                                       

                                        Cocke County Civilian Readiness Group
                                                "Volunteers Lead the Way"
The Cocke County Civilian Readiness Group (CCCRG or C3RG) is a volunteer community organization whose mission is to assist county Emergency Services during times of extreme emergency or natural disasters.
 
C3RG is composed of a Headquarters Element and 4 operational sections- Technical section, Humanitarian Aid section, Medical section, and Security/ Rescue resource. 

Headquarters is tasked with the Management, Deployment, Staging, Training, Public Affairs and Overall operations

Technical sections mission is to assist in the establishment, operation, maintenance and security of an communication and computer network during an emergency. Also helps provide technical expertise on electrical power, water resources, construction, demolition and other areas of technical expertise.

Humanitarian Aid sections mission is to assist in the distribution, preparation, and collection of Food, Shelter and Clothing in times of Crisis. Also helps provide Child and Animal care.

Medical sections mission is to assist in providing Emergency and Patient care in a time of Crisis. Also to help provide Field sanitation and Water treatment

Security and Rescue Sections mission is to assist in Perimeter & Area Security, Welfare Calls, Reconnaissance, Search Rescue and Extraction,

Basic Training should consist of- Emergency First Aid ( START), Disaster Preparedness, Basic Search and Rescue Techniques, Radio Communications Fundamentals, Wilderness Survival Skills, Basic Rifle Marksmanship, Firefighting Fundamentals, American History and Civics.

Basic Gear- Individual 72 hour "Bug out" bag, Individual First Aid kit, Portable Transceiver, Sidearm.     

Any feed back on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
Be of good Cheer!

[tallfoo]

Sound very interesting.  I have always thought that good neighbors should watch out for each other.  My question is, how are you going to fund this organization?  Training and supplies are going to be the biggest costs.

For training, I suppose you could just have knowledgeable members train other members.  If one person is already trained in Search and Rescue techniques then he/she can train other members.

For supplies, you are probably thinking that everyone will pitch in and share what they have in time of need.  But to manage effectively in times of disaster it would be best to know ahead of time what everyone has and is willing to share.

Also, how big is the area you intend to serve/protect?  Your whole county or just your immediate area?

[Tennessee Mountaineer]

Sound very interesting.  I have always thought that good neighbors should watch out for each other.  My question is, how are you going to fund this organization?  Training and supplies are going to be the biggest costs.

For training, I suppose you could just have knowledgeable members train other members.  If one person is already trained in Search and Rescue techniques then he/she can train other members.

For supplies, you are probably thinking that everyone will pitch in and share what they have in time of need.  But to manage effectively in times of disaster it would be best to know ahead of time what everyone has and is willing to share.

Also, how big is the area you intend to serve/protect?  Your whole county or just your immediate area?

All good points Tallfoo! As for funding it's mostly out of pocket, donations, and fund raising at community events. We have a co-op where we sell locally grown produce at farmers Mkts as well. We take a little off the top to fund things. We also trade,barter and just plain volunteer materials. For example I just traded 4 used bikes for 5 chickens and a rooster and built the coop from scrounged and donated lumber.

There are members who have established farms who trade produce for labor. I teach classes for free or baked goods. I have the SAR (SAR tech II) training as well as EMT and CERT experience so I teach what little I know well enough to say I own it. We have a Radio/telephone/Computer guy who works the tech end and a local sheriff deputy who helps out on the security end. There are a lot of retired folks around here who have an amazingly wide variety of skills, from long time farmers to programmers, who have lots of free time on there hands. The Little Old Church Ladies handle the food and clothing part of it through churches and other community resources.  Most of the organization/structures were already existing it just came down to coordinating each section and putting people in touch with each other. Each section has a appointed head who is free to organize as they see fit. We have weekly meetings to discuss, plan and have a potluck.

  We have about 50 members so far and each area of the county has a rep who acts as a liaison to get and give information.This is modeled on the CERT teams and NIMS structure so we will be able to work with local LEO's and EMS. We have established rally points for each area. The idea is when a section is needed, like during a winter storm, each member reports into their respective rally point and gives a detailed account of whats going on in there neck of the woods. the area rep then passes this information up the chain to the local officials if needed or sends the needed resources to the area.
 
This is a new thing for me and most folk involved so who knows who it will fly when the poop hits the oscillating air mover.  Logistics is always killer.The principle behind it is that we can be self reliant, independent, just plain neighborly in a time of crisis. Idealistic? yes but it beats the alternatives of hunker in the bunker or  a FEMA trailer!

Thank you for your comments! Be safe out there.
 

[monkeyboyf]

I'm jealous!  Sounds like a great community of people!

[Heavy G]

I don't have any suggestions, but I can say that you're lucky to live in a place where people are like that.

Sounds like a place where country boys (and girls) can survive, to quote the great poet Hank Williams Jr.

[Tennessee Mountaineer]

Sure enough it is a blessed place.I think it might have something to do with it being a very old mountain range with some old growth forest that gives it a certain mojo. I am just lucky to have family here.I spent years in California in such garden spots like Downtown San Francisco ( 5th and Market) and San Diego ( Barrio Logan).

  It was living in those cities, that are so prone to disaster, that got me into preparedness. I went through Loma Prieta, and just last year the San diego fires. I got involved in CERT in SF ( it's called NERT) I saw how citizens come together during disasters and realized that with a little training and preparedness you have a good chance of surviving most disasters. Perhaps the practical country life is the foundation of preparedness and independence. When I got the chance to bug out of Cali  I jumped at it.
 
The Smokies are a great mix of Christians, Old school back to the earthers, good ol boys and ex patriot Floridians. There are lots of veterans here too. All in all it is the nicest place I have ever lived. Some groups are a bit wary of the others and and their interactions came be interesting. This section of TN is know as the Moonshine capital of the World. Yee Haw!

 The down side is the is very little employment here. Small tourist industry and  a few service jobs but if you want to commute 60 miles each way there is work in Knoxvlile but not much. The cost of living is not much better than any city add the cost pf gas it isn't any cheaper than most cities. Sadly there is an air pollution problem that is pretty bad due to coal fired electric plants.
 For potential threats there are a few Nuclear plants and Oakridge Labs nearby. Flooding. Wildfires, Winter storms and Tornadoes. we recently had an environmental  disaster with a coal retention pond. Ain't no where safe!

TN has no state income tax and very liberal guns laws, CCW's with reciprocity and no waiting period for gun purchases. The price of land is decent and theres lots of open space to hike and ramble. Crime is manageable but city services are weak which is the reason of creating a network and community.
 
Most of what is going on here was already in place.They just need networking and coordination. Oddly enough when I decided to move here I had made contact with a fellow Libertarian, Veteran, Ham Operator and business owner through another forum. He happened to live in the same town I was moving to so there was a contact when I landed. The potluck at the local coffee house was the real starting point, it just kind of happened on it's own.There have been a few difficulties but so far so good.
We had our 7th meeting tonight and have an Earthday event on Saturday with belly dancers!