Creating Your Own Group
The following documents have been created to help you in your effort to bring Arm in Arm to your local community.
One of the most crucial things in this process is for you and your neighbors to get to know each other. We live in an increasingly interconnected world which as a biproduct has left a lot of us disconnected from our local communities. Yet, when an emergency or disaster strikes, it is these people in the homes surrounding you that will be your most valuable resouce in restoring a sense of normalcy. It is much preferable if the lines of communications can be set beforehand so that everyone can be prepared to deal with the worst that might strike a given community. We suggest that one of the first things that any Arm in Arm members should do is to take the initiative in beginning these discussions in your neighborhood.
For those who are shy and do not like the prospect of knocking on the doors of strangers, we suggest handing out fliers in your local neighborhoods. Please note that you cannot place them in mail boxes, because they will be removed if there is no affixed postage. Placing the documents at the front doors of people works well. Leaving them sandwiched between a storm door and the doorframe where the text is visible to a person returning home is ideal but not always possible. The flier does not have to be printed out on fancy paper--we are not politicians needing to impress people. The general gist of the message should be that due to many uncertainties regarding the future of our economy, you are wishing to have a neighborhood meeting to discuss how your community could prepare for a variety of contingencies. An example as a flier you can use or modify is below.
The first meeting can be held at your house, or if you need more space, perhaps you should look into booking a meeting room at a local public library. This meeting should initially be focused on getting to know each other as well as introducing the concept behind Arm in Arm. A sample agenda is included below"
One of the things you can talk about at the meeting is the idea of contingency planning. Most of us live comfortably in our world while taking many things for granted. Rarely do we consider what would happen if a variety of crucial services or circumstances were interrupted. For example, what if the dollar were all of a sudden to undergo a significant devaluation as has happened in other countries that have engaged in attempts to massively bailout failing businesses in its economy. A sample what if list is presented below to get people thinking about such things. It does no good to just think about things though; solutions must be brought to bear. This is one of the purposes of Arm in Arm, to find solutions to these problems. As a result, in your meeting you should leave with some concrete goals that will be tailored to the specific problems you face. Part of this should also involve an action list that members take home so that they can begin to work towards the broader goals established by the meeting
Please check back at this page periodically as well will be updating it with additional information and resources meant to help better prepare communities for potential unforseen circumstances.