Resources for Readiness, Response & Restoration
Browse the documents below and download various media to inform, educate, and support yourself and your community during all the phases of a crisis.
Active Shooter Countermeasures IACSP
13 April 2020 – Size 9.4MB – PDF
The threat of the next active shooting in this country often glides under the consciousness of the common citizen and even some of those in government tasked with our security. We as a society move from proactive to that of a reactive society between tragedies that occur on our soils. Presidential debate antics, the Grammys, Oscars and other current events will occupy the minds of the masses until another deadly tragedy for whatever reason takes the lives of innocent individuals.
Above the Tearline: Detecting Mail Bombs
13 April 2020 – 98KB – PDF
Mail screening has become a priority since the anthrax threat after 9/11, and many multinational corporations and private companies have greatly enhanced their mail-screening capabilities. Vice President of Intelligence Fred Burton discusses how companies and individuals can identify and deal with suspicious letters or packages.
Bomb Threat Standoff Info Card
13 April 2020 – 266KB – PDF
Evacuation-distances per threat.
Homicide (Suicide) Bombers
13 April 2020 – 57KB – PDF
In suicide terrorism, the death of the bomber is the key to the success of the attack; the bomber knows in advance that success depends entirely on this death. The homicide bomber can transport the explosives either on his body, in a vehicle, or in an item he may be carrying. He is fully aware of what he is doing, and approaches a previously chosen target and blows himself up. The homicide bomber chooses the time and place to execute the explosion so that it will cause the maximum damage to the target. When evaluating whether the threat of a homicide bombing exists, law enforcement primarily focuses on capabilities and intentions.
UN Landmine UXO Safety Handbook
13 April 2020 – 287KB – PDF
The aim of this handbook is to provide general landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) awareness and safety information to organisations and individuals working in the vicinity of areas affected by these weapons, and to help them: • Establish proper safety procedures; • Avoid contact with mines and UXO; • Take appropriate action in emergency situations involving mine/UXO incidents; • Take appropriate action in case of accidental entry into a minefield.
Night Friend – 5 May 2020 – Size 7MB – PDF
COVID Children’s story by Maretha Maartens and illustrated by Huibrecht de Hart (In multiple languages)
NAGVRIEND – Afrikaans
NIGHT FRIEND – Arabic
NIGHT FRIEND – Chichewa
NIGHT FRIEND – English
NIGHT FRIEND – Italian
NIGHT FRIEND – Sesotho
Child Welfare Information Gateway
9 Sep 2022- Size 307KB – PDF
Parenting Children and Youth Who Have Experienced Abuse or Neglect: Children and youth who have been abused or neglected need safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments to recover from the trauma they’ve experienced. If you are parenting a child or youth with a history of abuse or neglect, you might have questions about the impacts and how you can help your child heal. This factsheet is intended to help parents (birth, foster, and adoptive) and other caregivers better understand the challenges of caring for a child or youth who has experienced maltreatment and learn about available resources for support. This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. Credit is due to the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
This publication is available online at:https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/parenting-CAN/.
Helping Children in the Midst of Crisis
26 Apr 2021 – Size 568KB – PDF
Guidelines for Parents and Child Caregivers. Children are sometimes the invisible victims in a crisis situation. Their outward behavior of playing and laughing may disguise the inner pain and confusion they are experiencing. Because children are less able to understand the context and significance of a trauma, they may make faulty conclusions about what happened.
Resilience for children under 6
29 Mar 2021 – Size 11MB – PDF
Booklet for parents of children from birth to six years. Building Resilience in Young Children is a resource to help you boost your child’s ability to bounce back from life’s challenges and thrive. The ideas and resources are based on research and have been tested by parents. The stories were provided by parents of young children. These parents hope that their experiences will help you and your family get through life’s ups and downs.
Resources for Resilience skills in younger children
29 Mar 2021 – Size 157KB – PDF
Resources from the internet for Resilience skills in younger children.
13 Pitfalls to Crisis Readiness
Size 1.3MB – PDF
Regardless of the sector, size or the geographic location, there are a number of common mistakes that we see as organizations establish global readiness programs. Getting them right will help ensure the global adoption of a sustainable, flexible and practical program that will facilitate effective monitoring, appropriate escalation, limitation of impact, rapid response, business-centric recovery, and ultimately protection of organizational growth, profit and reputation.
Managing in a VUCA World
2020 – Size 678KB – PDF
A state of flux has replaced the sense of certainty, stability and familiarity that people were used to. This type of environment can be described using the “VUCA” acronym, which stands for “Volatile,” “Uncertain,” “Complex,” and “Ambiguous.” In this article, we’ll explore what VUCA means in more detail, and we’ll look at how you can prepare for and deal with each of its elements, so that you can manage successfully in an unpredictable business world.
Risk Outlook 2021 Predictions by SOS International
Size 5.8MB – PDF
The future is uncertain. In the 12 months since the last Risk Outlook report, COVID-19 has dealt a sudden shock to the system which has left people, governments and businesses focusing on their immediate survival. As this report describes, our view of all the risks and opportunities which lie ahead of us is now filtered through the prism of the pandemic.
Communicating in a Crisis
Size 584KB – PDF
When a crisis or some other adverse situation occurs, the natural instinct is to close ranks, work furiously to contain the damage, and set the situation back to normal. We go into protection mode – for both our organization and ourselves. However, this approach can go badly wrong. This is where the best thing to do in a crisis can be to communicate the facts and issues surrounding them clearly, quickly, and consistently.
How to keep calm in a Crisis
Size 591KB – PDF
You need to be organized and swift in response to a crisis. But, above all, you need to stay calm. It’s not easy to keep cool when things go wrong, but this article will help you to meet disaster head-on and to think clearly as you do so. We look at crises in two stages: before they erupt and while they are happening.
Security Risk Management Guide for Smaller NGOs (EISF)
2017 – Size 893KB – PDF
This guide aims to be a simple, easy-to-use security resource to help smaller NGOs demystify security risk management. By setting out the elements of a basic security risk management framework, this guide aims to support NGOs in translating their duty of care obligations into key processes and actions that will not only enhance their national and international staff security but also improve their organisation’s reputation and credibility.
Planning for a Crisis
Size 588KB – PDF
In this article, we explore what types of crises could affect your organization, and look at strategies you can adopt as part of your plan for preparing and responding.
2018 Tearfund Learning Together
Size 1.38MB – PDF
Twenty years on from the initial pilot project in ten churches, more than ten thousand local churches around the world have carried out CCM, with as many as ten million lives impacted. CCM has spread to more than 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. CCM has many different names and expressions to suit local language and culture. This publication seeks to bring together some of the key lessons learnt as we have journeyed with CCM over the last 20 years. It is written for CCM practitioners – those facilitating, coordinating or promoting CCM.
Dignity kits guidance for distribution to humanitarians
Size 2.49MB – PDF
This guidance note was developed by the GBV Sub-Cluster (GBV SC) Turkey (cross-border operations in Syria) to support best practice and facilitate a standardized but context-specific approach to the development and distribution of dignity kits. Dignity kits contain hygiene and sanitary items, as well as other items explicitly tailored towards the local needs of women and girls of reproductive age in particular communities.
Dos and Don’ts in ‘Responding to Humanitarian Disasters’
March 2016 – Size 2.14MB – PDF
This brief guidance informs those who are considering responding internationally to a disaster either as individuals or as part of a team. It highlights key questions to consider before departing, whilst working in the disaster area, and on returning home. Responses to these questions considered are presented as “Dos and Don’ts” which are exemplified by recommended practices and those to avoid in the real case studies below.
Overseas Development Institute (ODI)-Providing Aid in Insecure Environments
Sep 2006 – Size 728KB – PDF
This report presents findings from a 2-year study examining aid in insecure environments. Drawing on the most comprehensive global dataset to date of major reported incidents of violence against aid workers from 1997 to 2005, it provides a quantitative analysis of the changing security environment for civilian aid operations. It examines the related trends in policy and operations over the last decade. It explores ways in which aid operations have adapted to working in highly insecure contexts.
Preparing Your Church for Coronavirus
Size 276KB – PDF
The aim of this guide is to help churches plan and prepare for COVID-19. This church planning and preparedness guide draws on biblical wisdom and team research. The Humanitarian Disaster Institute shares insights and best practices from our collaborative work with local, state, and federal public health agencies. The team’s experiences with helping churches around the globe for nearly a decade have also informed this guide.
Stay and Deliver
Size 1.67MB – PDF
Good practice for humanitarians in complex security environments. In response to growing concerns regarding the insecurity of aid operations and the resulting decline in humanitarian access, the present study, commissioned by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), set out to identify and document those strategies and practices that have enabled humanitarian organisations to maintain effective operations in contexts characterised by high security risks.
COVID-19 Community Engagement
13 March 2020 – Size 256 KB – PDF
COVID-19: How to include marginalized and vulnerable people in risk communication and community engagement. Marginalized people become even more vulnerable in emergencies. This is due to factors such as their lack of access to effective surveillance and early-warning systems, and health services.
Earthquake Readiness
July 2020 – Size 532KB – PDF
A short guide to Earthquake Readiness. Earthquakes are powerful movements of rocks in the earth’s crust. Rapid release of energy creates seismic waves that travel through the earth. Earthquakes usually arrive with no prior warning and/or time to prepare.
Planning Considerations: Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place Guidance for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Partners
July 2019 – Size 915KB – PDF
This document supports state, local, tribal, and territorial partners in planning for evacuation and/or shelter-in-place protective actions. It summarizes characteristics that jurisdictions should consider when planning for evacuation and/or shelter-in-place operations. In addition, this document contains job aids and checklists that jurisdictions can customize to meet their needs for all disasters regardless of scale.
FEMA Family Evacuation Plan
Apr 2020 – Size 62KB – PDF
Evacuations are more common than many people realize. Hundreds of times each year, transportation and industrial accidents release harmful substances, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. Fires and floods cause evacuations even more frequently. Almost every year, people along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts evacuate in the face of approaching hurricanes.
Flood Awareness
Apr 2020 – Size 4.4MB – PDF
90% of all natural disasters are water related.
Asia is the region most vulnerable to water-related disasters, accounting for more than 45% of fatalities and more than 90% of the people affected by disasters between 1980 and 2006.
A Practical Guide to Situational Awareness
March 2012 – Size 175KB – PDF
Situational awareness is very important, not just for personal security but as a fundamental building block in collective security. Because of this importance, Stratfor has written about situational awareness many times in the past. However, we believe it merits repeating again in order to share these concepts with our new readers as well as serve as a reminder for our longtime readers.
Assessing Risk and Developing Action Plan for Travel
2012 – Size 193KB – PDF
When it comes to international programs and risk assessment it’s best to be informed of possible hazards and be prepared with an action plan in place.
Carjacking (OSAC)
2002 – Size 152KB – PDF
CARJACKING has become one of the most prevalent crimes in many parts of the world. Most carjackings occur for the sole purpose of taking the car; it is a crime without a political agenda and does not specifically target Americans. You can protect yourself by becoming familiar with the methods, ruses, and locations commonly used by carjackers.
Carjacking Prevention
2004 – Size 305KB – PDF
Law enforcement agencies agree that carjacking is a crime of opportunity. Many law enforcement agencies are only now placing firm definitions on what the crime carjacking is and keeping track of statistics for the crime. By some estimates, there are up to 50,000 attempted carjackings each year in the U.S. Once you’ve been targeted, it’s almost time to surrender your vehicle. But you can significantly reduce the chances of being singled out as a victim if you follow some careful advice.
Hotel Safety – OSAC
2004 – Size 274KB – PDF
Westerners are targeted in and around hotels in some locations because of their apparent relative wealth in comparison to the local residents. These crimes primarily include pickpocketing, burglary, robbery, fraud, and theft. The remaining – and less frequent – cases involved harassment, assault, and sexual assault.
Hotel Security Sample Checklist – OSAC
2006 – Size 263KB – PDF
The sample checklist below is a composite of measures which many companies now prefer to be standardized in the hotels they frequent.
Rape and Sexual Assault – British FCO
2006 – Size 202KB – PDF
While most visits abroad are trouble-free, we are becoming more aware of people being raped while they are overseas. Rape is a very traumatic experience whenever and wherever it happens, but the trauma can often be made even more difficult to deal with when the rape happens abroad. We aim to be as helpful as we can to anyone who tells us they have had sex against their wishes or been attacked by someone wanting sex.
School Lockdown Procedures
2012 – Size 44KB – PDF
One type of emergency that schools may face is a threat posed by an intruder or emergency situation outside the school that prevents the evacuation of students from the building. In these situations, schools should be prepared to take steps to isolate students, teachers and staff from danger by instituting a school lockdown.
Residential Safe Rooms
2015 – Size 79KB – PDF
It is probably unlikely that anyone would want to construct a complete and new safe room unless they were building a new house. Modifying an existing room is much more common. Here are some primary factors to consider.
Top 10 Ways NOT to Become a Victim Around the World
2002 – Size 173KB – PDF
As a rule, people are more likely to be targeted by criminals when they are in unfamiliar surroundings and unskilled at interpreting events around them. For people with limited international travel experience, many parts of the world represent just this kind of environment. Exacerbating the incidence of crime against travelers is the poverty in many countries that fuels robbery and theft.
Travel Safe – Know Before You Go – British FCO
2002 – Size 1.4MB – PDF
Most holidays are nothing less than wonderful but sadly this isn’t always the case. Recently tourists have been caught up in terror attacks and tragic natural disasters. To a less hazardous but still potentially serious degree, lots of travellers return from their dream trip with stories of a snatched bag or a picked pocket.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
9 Sep 2022- Size 307KB – PDF
Parenting Children and Youth Who Have Experienced Abuse or Neglect: Children and youth who have been abused or neglected need safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments to recover from the trauma they’ve experienced. If you are parenting a child or youth with a history of abuse or neglect, you might have questions about the impacts and how you can help your child heal. This factsheet is intended to help parents (birth, foster, and adoptive) and other caregivers better understand the challenges of caring for a child or youth who has experienced maltreatment and learn about available resources for support. This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. Credit is due to the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
This publication is available online at:https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/parenting-CAN/.