Could You Really Turn Family Away During A Disaster?

Could you Really Turn Family Away During a Disaster? by Bravo Echo

One of the most asked questions and/or looming questions on the mind of those who prepare is how to deal with family members who refuse or fail to prepare and/or those who then show up on our doorstep. What if they are coming from an area infected by the coronavirus?

An important part of preparing that is sometimes overlooked or not given the level of consideration it deserves is what one should do when someone comes knocking on your door. This is not the neighbor down the street or a stranger. This is family. A loved one. We open the door and see the look of desperation in the eyes of family members. Maybe they do or do not know we prepare. Does it matter? They are family.

The question we need to ask ourselves and think about very seriously is who we would turn away, and what extended family members would we help out in a disaster or when the feces hits the rotating steel fan blade. Those in the preparedness world know this as the SHTF event.

Unfortunately, this is just the first step. If our food plan is enough to feed just our internal family, how are we going to handle the situation of having extra mouths to feed? This is all dependent on whether we decide to help them or turn them away. We may have decided no and our spouse yes. Do we change our vote to pacify our spouse? It would be very difficult to turn close family members away but one must take a lot in to consideration. If we were set to say no, I would guess we have other circumstances that weigh into our decision other than survival.

Another question we may need to address is “how would we decide who could stay and who needed to go away?” What if we will not or cannot take the entire group due to available space, food, or tensions? This is a tough question and one we really need to give a lot of thought. Deciding on who would make the cut could be the difference between surviving or possibly throwing everything we have down the tubes.

Here are some things we may want to consider:

1. How close are they to our family?

No matter how nice we may think we are, it is just not feasible to think that a family can bring everyone and everyone they bring with them in during any SHTF event. I think it is fair to say most people can barely afford to get prepared completely. Like it or not, we are going to have to figure out how to say, “No, I just can’t do it.”

We can probably name a loved one immediately who we want to come be with us during an event of this nature. Maybe a child? A grandchild? Maybe this loved one also has a significant other, but not married, who also has a family member who is a best friend with two children. If we want one, we then get them all. Did you plan for five vs the one?

This would most likely be a very painful situation and our decision could be the ending of a relationship or cause the ending of a loved ones relationship if we forced them to leave a loved one outside the door. Do we have what it takes and the resources to give in and give them all access to our home, our family and the resources we secured for our family.

2. What is my Family’s Opinion?

In any marriage, we are bound to have different opinions about people than our spouse, and this should weigh heavily into our decision. Our husband or wife’s opinion about our favorite cousin might be completely different from ours. The person may have a dreadful past. They may have been a negative influence on our spouse or a family member. They may be annoying or have habits that are not conducive to a confined preparedness environment.

We may wish to have the conversation now with our family about who would stay and why. We should attempt to put personal feelings aside and come to a rational conclusion about whether they would be an asset or a hindrance to our survival plan and try not to get into an argument when we are talking about it. Decide now if it will be a group vote or if the final decision could be ours.