When the Cavalry Isn't Coming: Why Your Neighbour Might Be Your Best First Responder

In partnership with

Dear reader,

Crisis response isn't what we think it is. While we imagine flashing lights and uniformed professionals rushing to the scene, the reality is far more ordinary and far more powerful.

One of my recent LinkedIn posts started a discussion (61 comments - 64 reposts) amongst emergency communication experts and revealed something that should reshape how we think about preparedness: the first person on the scene is usually someone's neighbour, armed with nothing more than willingness to help.

This week, we explore the actionable framework that emerged from this conversation, proving that extraordinary community resilience can grow from utterly ordinary actions.

No special training required. No complex systems to navigate. Just neighbours talking to neighbours about looking after each other.

Read on…

Table of Contents

• When the Cavalry Isn't Coming

• The Audit That Starts With Sticky Notes

• Training Without the Intimidation

• Building Social Capital Before Crisis Hits

• Making Information Stick

• When Institutions Learn to Listen

• Starting Small

• Let’s meet!

When the Cavalry Isn't Coming

The first rescuer on the scene isn't wearing a uniform.

This insight sparked a professional dialogue on LinkedIn recently. My post generated responses from global experts in crisis and emergency communication. Their collective wisdom reveals something powerful: communities are already first responders, whether we plan for it or not.

The responses have been consolidated into an actionable framework. Here's what emerges when experts stop talking theory and start sharing what actually works.

The Audit That Starts With Sticky Notes

Stephanie P., Nate Matthews-Trigg, and Acacia Clark suggested something deceptively simple: map your neighbourhood.

• Who lives here?

• What skills do they have?

• What resources exist behind these doors?

The retired nurse. The carpenter with tools. The family with solar panels and a water tank. Knowledge scattered across your street, waiting to be gathered.

Their approach cuts through complexity. Print a large neighbourhood map. Invite neighbours to a shared space. Give them sticky notes or markers to add their names, skills, and resources.

Start tomorrow.

Training Without the Intimidation

Bob Layton and Acacia Clark understand something crucial about emergency training: the best sessions don't feel like formal education at all. Make them visual. Make them story-based. Offer community badges or certifications people actually want to earn.

The World Health Organisation and Red Cross publish basic first aid guidance you can download right now. Print the posters. Organise a 30-minute peer-led session in your local community space.

Children can lead this too. Ask them to draw "What to do in an emergency" posters and display them at school entrances. Their clarity often cuts through adult overcomplication.

Alternatively, download the first aid app.

Building Social Capital Before Crisis Hits

Peggy Caesar touched on a fundamental truth: resilience gets built during quiet times, not during emergencies. Regular informal community events create the social fabric that holds when everything else falls apart.

Gregory Wilson and Andrew McCullough recognised something important about existing networks. Churches, mosques, women's groups, sports clubs—these aren't just social organisations. They're dormant emergency response networks.

Ask a local faith or community group leader to include a five-minute safety tip in their next gathering. Organise a neighbourhood coffee hour and bring one question about preparedness to discuss.

The connections matter more than the content.

Making Information Stick

The experts emphasised a communications truth: complex messages die quick deaths. Visual information survives. Stories outlast statistics.

Forward one image-based emergency infographic to your neighbourhood WhatsApp group. Write three simple emergency steps in large print and tape them near your fridge. Share one tip you learnt about emergencies with someone on your street.

Layton also highlighted peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Train trusted community members to share messages through door-to-door outreach or informal gatherings.

When Institutions Learn to Listen

The framework suggests something radical for formal emergency planning: include community leaders as genuine stakeholders, not just consultation boxes to tick.

Acacia Clark, working alongside Nate Matthews-Trigg again, emphasised engaging children, parents, and teachers in co-developing school safety protocols. Let students lead communication through posters, games, or school radio.

Layton mentioned two-way feedback systems. Set up SMS lines, notice boards, or monthly meetings for ongoing dialogue between communities and institutions.

Place a feedback box in a communal area with one question: "What would help you feel safer during an emergency?"

Starting Small

This isn't about transformation overnight. Revolution begins with conversation.

Write down the name of one person in your neighbourhood who should be involved in local emergency planning. Talk to them. List one community project you'd fund with €300 and share it with your local council.

Ask one neighbour to act as an emergency contact for the month and share their number with others. Conduct a 10-minute house fire evacuation drill with your household.

Invite neighbours to share their most difficult or inspiring emergency story over a meal.

The Community as First Responder: Expanded Action Framework document emerging from that LinkedIn discussion offers proof that community resilience grows from ordinary actions. No special funding required. No bureaucracy to navigate.

Just neighbours talking to neighbours about looking after each other.

You can download the document here. Feel free to share it.

The framework is built upon a wealth of insights and knowledge generously shared by a number of LinkedIn contributors. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to each of them for their invaluable comments, practical tips, and significant contributions.

References and further reading.

• WE’RE READY! ©. (2024). WE’RE READY! ©. https://www.wereready.org/

• The Churchill Fellows Association of NSW Churchill Fellowship to learn new approaches for mobilising communities during disasters - Churchill Trust. (2022). Churchilltrust.com.au. https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/project/the-churchill-fellows-association-of-nsw-churchill-fellowship-to-learn-new-approaches-for-mobilising--communities-during-disasters/

• Care. (2023). Australia Remade. Australia Remade. https://www.australiaremade.org/care-disaster

  ‌

  ‌

Sponsor

Start learning AI in 2025

Everyone talks about AI, but no one has the time to learn it. So, we found the easiest way to learn AI in as little time as possible: The Rundown AI.

It's a free AI newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the latest AI news, and teaches you how to apply it in just 5 minutes a day.

Plus, complete the quiz after signing up and they’ll recommend the best AI tools, guides, and courses – tailored to your needs.

Sign up to start learning.

What I am reading/testing/checking out:

• Report: Future of Life Institute - the Al Safety Index

• Article: Nearly 280,000 people were relocated to prepare for Typhoon Wipha

• Tool: Dora Studio - Transform your ideas into stunning motion graphics

• Report: Beyond Recovery: Reframing UK Resilience Around Survivability, Not Survivors

Let’s meet!

PS: I hope you've enjoyed this newsletter! Creating it each weekend is a labour of love that I provide for free. If you've found my writing valuable, the best way to support it is by sharing it with others. Thank you for reading!

_{Parts of this newsletter were created using AI technology to draft content. In addition, all AI-generated images include a caption stating, 'This image was created using AI'. These changes were made in line with the transparency requirements of the EU AI law for AI-generated content. Some links in this newsletter may be affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission if you click and make a purchase; however, I only promote tools and services that I have tested, use myself, or am convinced will make a positive difference.}