Barbara Lawlor, Peak to Peak.   Prepare for a disruption of life as you know it, as well as for a disaster.

It’s not just the earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires or floods that can hurt you, it’s also a power outage, water disruption, sewer problems, bad guys and a food delivery truck strike that could become major inconveniences or health and safety issues.

A week ago Saturday over 50 people attended the “How to Prepare for Everything” workshop, sponsored by the Inter Mountain Alliance. It was a meeting designed to present a simple, step-by-step method to empower yourself, your family, community, church, school, and neighbors to prepare for any disaster, disruption, emergency, adventure, or life’s ups and downs. The workshop concept was to introduce the participants to the information and then share it. By preparing for a limited number of disruptions, you will prepare for an unlimited number of disasters.

The group divided into six or seven people at a table to discuss potential disruptions, what they would be and what they would do about them. One of the tables brought up an incident of getting a knock on the door and a man saying he was a police officer responding to a call, that the resident knew she didn’t make. What do you do?

The people at the table threw out suggestions: Get an outer screen door. It would be a first deterrent to someone fighting their way in and would give you time to come up with a plan if you don’t have one and utilize a plan if you made one. One woman said a knock on the door late at night is scary and she had an aluminum bat next to every door. When questioned if a woman is capable of hitting someone hard enough to stop him, the women at the table agreed that they were.

Another suggestion was a dog, or at least a barking tape. A chain on the door is a good idea, because you don’t have to open the door.

Before the groups moved on to other tables for different discussions, they said they felt good about the event; that talking to others and listening to them had given them ideas on how to protect themselves. “I feel that I am more prepared than I was before,” said one woman.

One of the groups discussed evacuation, discovering that it was easier to get out in the first 72 hours of a disaster.

Jan Mussler said that the discussions were a little overwhelming, but also made her feel hopeful. She said she has a HAM radio that would be helpful in power outages. She said that having communication makes the neighborhood more cohesive.

Erin Whitney said, “I learned the names of my neighbors and about the neighborhood communication. I also learned some ways to be as prepared as possible, but the neighbors are the important thing.”

Some helpful ideas included: knowing your RTD schedule, a little solar powered charger for cell phones and an escape route plan.

When the discussions ended, a smaller group of people stayed for training on how to spread the word about being prepared. They were told that they may not have control over what happens to them, but they do have control over how they respond.

Nederland Administrator Alisha Reis said she wanted to take all the ideas and consolidate them. There are the three R’s to remember about a disturbance: respond, repair, recover. “We can do it together. We can prepare individually, but we have to do it as a group.”