People and Skills

Start by finding out what skills and resources people in your group and community have.

People may have skills and experience that nobody has noticed. When people get real chances to help, they can grow in confidence and learn to lead. This works best when others value their skills and when they can use them to work for a shared goal for the community.

Look at:

Work out who can do what. Agree how the group will ask each person for help. This is sometimes called a skills audit.

Are they willing to share these in an emergency? Agree before an emergency what people could share or lend, as this makes things easier when everyone is under pressure. Clear agreements help prevent arguments and they also mean more people can use the same things.

Keep reviewing this information, as people may move or learn new skills. They may get new equipment, or their equipment may break or be sold.

Find out who can help people who might need additional support.

Volunteers can also help people get ready before an emergency. For example, volunteers could:

• help people who find it hard to get around to get the supplies they need
• Help people who can join the [LINK to PSR site] Priority Services Register to sign up. This is a free service that makes sure that energy and water companies can support people who need additional help, for example during a power cut
• Run events to help the community prepare. See Events.
• Help with your communications plan.

Try to involve other groups to be Ready Together. Include groups that are less likely to take part already.

For example, young people and people living with disabilities can often be left out of planning for emergencies, but both groups can play an important role. They will bring views and skills that can make the whole community more prepared.

Some people may see where they live as temporary. They may be less likely to join longer term community work, like getting ready for an emergency, but they can still play an important part in getting ready.

In tourist areas, visitors and seasonal workers can change what the community needs in a crisis. They can also change what skills the community has, and how many people can help.

As a community group, talk through how you could all reach out to the broader community around you.

Get to know other groups in the area. Read the guidance on Working with your community for more information. Joint events can be a great way to get to know each other well. More guidance on Events can be read here.

Knowing your neighbours can help a lot in an emergency. Try to learn their names, skills, and whether they are likely to need additional support.

It also helps to know which homes in your local area are empty, like empty houses or flats. This can help the emergency services send help to the right places.

Make a rota to share out tasks across your group. A rota can show who does which task, and when.

In an emergency, support the health and wellbeing of all members of your community and make sure that no one burns out from exhaustion. Loading too many tasks on to the same small number of people reduces your chances of success, and isn’t fair to them.

Taking time off work to volunteer in an emergency can also create financial stress.

Sharing out tasks with a rota can help alleviate these issues.

Think ahead about the types of tasks that might need doing, like welfare checks, reporting damage, and gaining and distributing information. Then distribute these tasks across the group. This will mean that everyone has a role, which means everyone can contribute and feel more in control of the event. It will also mean the tasks do not fall to the same people every time.