by California Casualty | Educators, Firefighters, Nominate a Hero, Nurses, Peace Officers |
Click here to cast your vote for February’s Hero of the Month!
Name: Jody W.
Profession: Registered Nurse (Home Health Nurse)
Nominated by: Stephen N.
In December 2011, Jody W. saved a complete stranger’s life. As a Nurse, this wasn’t really something new; saving lives is in the job description. But this time was different; this time Jody saved a man’s life by giving him her kidney. Growing up, Jody saw the struggle of kidney disease and the life-saving power of organ donation first hand. Her close family members battled kidney disease, and several were given a new lease on life through organ donations. In July 2011, Jody put herself on a donation transplant list as a non-directed donor. Not even 5 months later, she was cleared to donate and matched with a recipient. In December, moments before her surgery, Jody got to meet the recipient of her kidney and his family. He is now doing well and on December 8th, 2012, Jody and the recipient celebrated their 1-year transplant anniversary! Jody is also very dedicated to international health and has been on 13 mission trips in Central America. She says she plans to use any prize money from Nominate a Hero on her next trip to Honduras!
Jody, the recipient of her kidney, and their families on the day of the operation.
Jody and the recipient looking GREAT 6-months post-surgery!
Name: Keven R.
Profession: Sheriff’s Deputy
Nominated by: Joel H.
Deputy Keven R. was on patrol in Dallas when he happened to notice something peculiar: a car’s brake lights sticking out of a lake. He immediately drove down to the reservoir, pointed his patrol car’s headlights across the water’s surface and got out of his car. That’s when he realized that the car was slowly sinking- with two young women trapped inside. Deputy Keven R. immediately took off his utility belt and waded into the freezing water. He then swam to the car and shattered the car window’s glass. Inside, the two women were beating on the window, begging for help and telling him that they could not swim. He pulled both women out of the vehicle, ‘bear-hugging’ them as he swam them back to safety. Rowan barely got both women to shore before the car was completely submerged. Amazingly, the entire ordeal was captured on the Deputy’s patrol car dash cam. Check it out below:
Deputy Keven Rowan
Name: Bradley H.
Profession: Volunteer Firefighter & EMT, Full-time EMT
Nominated by: Joyce H.
Brad got his start in firefighting as volunteer at only 18-years-old. Now, he serves as a full-time EMT while still volunteering his time as both an EMT and Firefighter. In March of 2011, Brad was called to a residential fire. When he arrived, there was already heavy smoke coming from the home. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Brad and his team bravely entered the home–without gear–to rescue a bed-ridden woman trapped on the second floor. Within minutes, Brad and crew had the patient secured in an ambulance and on her way to the hospital. For his heroic action and quick-thinking, Brad was awarded the Medal of Valor.
Brad H. receiving a Medal of Valor and Lifesaving from his Fire Chief.
Name: Mrs. Ridge
Profession: Educator
Nominated by: Vicky P., Debra P., Ginny B., and Zena B. (Parents of current and previous students)
Parents of Mrs. Ridge’s students simply cannot say enough about the impact this inspiring educator has on their children, both academically and personally. They note her ‘incredible spirit, kindness, generosity and excellence as a teacher and citizen.’ Comparing her teaching abilities to being ‘able to leap tall building in a single bound,’ they shared all the ways her dedication and innovation has inspired their children to develop a love for learning. Mrs. Ridge is known for the family-like atmosphere she fosters in her classroom and unique ability to tailor a lesson plan to a diverse group of students by truly getting to know each of her students. She has also been known to dip into her own pocket to make sure she can give her students the very best despite budget cuts in her school district, even going so far as to provide lunches for students that would otherwise go without and donating used clothes from her own home to her students’ families. This educator is truly viewed as a ‘hero’ and ‘angel’ by her students and their families.
Mrs. Ridge and a former student
by California Casualty | Peace Officers |
This Guest Blog post is by CopsAlive editor John Marx. John is the featured article in our Law Enforcement Officers’ News Resource: The Blue Bulletin. To sign up to receive the Blue Bulletin in your inbox once a month, click here!
Critical Incident Support for Law Enforcement Officers: A Guest blog by John Marx of CopsAlive.com
Recent events remind us that there are many unexpected situations that will take a toll on the officers and other law enforcement professionals working within your agency.
If you haven’t created a Peer Support System, now is the time to do so. If you already have a Peer Support Program, now is a good time to examine how well you would have been able to support your staff if you have a mass causality incident like the ones in Newton, Connecticut.
At The Law Enforcement Survival Institute and CopsAlive.com, we highly recommend that agencies assess their capabilities to support their staff, both during critical incidents as well as, for the everyday caustic rigors of working in law enforcement.
As part of our Armor Your Self™ and Armor Your Agency™ training programs, we recommend having numerous systems of support in place, one of the most important of which is a Peer Support Team.
We are very impressed with the work of police psychologist Jack Digliani, Ph.D., Ed.D.. We highly recommend his book as well as his training and the implementation of his Police & Sheriff Peer Support Team concept.
Dr. Digliani is a psychologist and a former deputy sheriff, police officer, and detective. He served as staff psychologist and peer support team clinical supervisor of the Fort Collins, Colorado Police Services for the last 11 years of his police career. He is the author of Reflections of a Police Psychologist and provides training on creating peer support teams for police and sheriff’s agencies. You can learn more about him, his book and his training program, as well as download a free copy of Jack’s “Police & Sheriff Peer Support Team Manual” by clicking here.
Here are some of Dr. Digliani’s thoughts about the peer support concept, how it supports officers involved in shootings, and how it can assist in the recovery following a traumatic incident.
Overview
The peer support team is part of each agency’s comprehensive response to an officer- involved incident and is comprised of the agency psychologist and officers trained as peer counselors. The team strives to minimize trauma to the officer and his/her family by assisting them throughout the investigative and return to duty process. Effective intervention will result in the officer returning to duty as soon as possible and continuing to be a productive member of the agency.
Mission
The peer support mission is to provide the officer and family members with emotional support, stress management, and education. In addition, help with trauma recovery, coping strategies to deal with the investigative process as it unfolds, issues surrounding the officer’s response to colleagues and the media and the facilitation of the officer’s return to duty. All interactions with the peer support psychologist are confidential and protected by the privileged communication statute.
Responsibilities
Peer Support serves a supportive rather than investigative or advocacy functions and does not interfere with the investigative process or elicit any details of the incident.
How to Recover from Traumatic Stress
1. Accept your emotions as normal and part of the recovery/survival process.
2. Talk about the event and your feelings.
3. Accept that you may have experienced fear and confronted your vulnerability.
4. Use your fear or anxiousness as a cue to utilize your officer safety skills.
5. Realize that your survival instinct was an asset at the time of the incident and that it remains intact to assist you again if needed.
6. Accept that you cannot always control events, but you can control your response.
7. If you are troubled by a perceived lack of control, focus on the fact that you had some control during the event. You used your strength to respond in a certain way.
8. Do not second-guess your actions. Evaluate your actions based on your perceptions at the time of the event, not afterwards.
9. Understand that your actions were based on the need to make a critical decision for action. The decision likely had to be made within seconds.
10. Accept that your behavior was appropriate to your perceptions and feelings at the time of the incident. Accept that no one is perfect. You may like/dislike some actions.
11. Focus on the things you did that you feel good about. Positive outcomes are often produced by less than perfect actions.
12. Do not take personally the response of the system. Keep the needs of the various systems (DA’s office, administrative investigation, the press, etc) in perspective.
Remember, the event most likely happened because you are a police officer and not because of who you are as a person.
Positive Recovery – keep in mind that you are naturally resilient
1. You will accept what happened. You will accept any experience of fear and any feelings of vulnerability as part of being human. Vulnerability is not helplessness.
2. You will accept that no one can control everything. You will focus on your behaviors and the appropriate application of authority. You will keep a positive perspective.
3. You will learn and grow from the experience. You will be able to assess all future circumstances on their own merits. You will become stronger and smarter.
4. You will include survivorship into your life perspective. You may re-evaluate life’s goals, priorities, and meaning. You will gain wisdom that can come from survivorship.
5. You will be aware of changes in yourself that may contribute to problems at home, work, and other environments. You will work to overcome these problems.
6. You will increase the intimacy of your actions and communications to those you love. You will remain open to the feedback of those who love you.
Getting Help
No one can work through the aftermath of a traumatic incident for you, but you do not have to go it alone. Keep an open mind. Allow your family, friends, and peers to help. Seek professional assistance if you get stuck, if you do not “feel like yourself” or if your friends or family notice dysfunctional emotional responses or behavior. Do not ignore those who care about you. Stay connected to your loved ones.
This article adapts and includes information from the Colorado Law Enforcement Academy Handbook and Reflections of a Police Psychologist (Digliani, J.A., 2010) reprinted with permission.
Please remember that by the nature of our work in law enforcement, we will always be called upon to respond to some of the worst and most horrific situations on the planet and that we have volunteered to do so based upon our character, our strengths, our training and our resolve. We cannot ever prepare ourselves fully for what we must face so we must constantly work to increase or resiliency and when we are faced with the worst of the world we must be prepared to accept assistance to ensure that we are able to fully recover and return to our positions of service.
CopsAlive.com and The Law Enforcement Survival Institute offer the Armor Your Self™ training programs to help officer’s survive the toxicity of their careers as well as Armor Your Agency™ programs to help agencies create systems to support their officers and staff.
The Eight Modules of The Armor Your Self™ Program:
1. The “Hidden Dangers” of Law Enforcement and Threat Assessment
2. Armor Your Self™ A New Strategy
3. Armor Your Self™ Physically
4. Armor Your Self™ Mentally
5. Armor Your Self™ Emotionally
6. Armor Your Self™ Spiritually
7. Armor Your Agency™
8. Action Planning for Career Survival
Critical Strategies Discussed in the Armor Your Agency™ Program
1. Mentoring Programs
2. Peer Support
3. Chaplain’s Program
4. Family Support Network
5. Psychological Services
6. Resilience Training & Education
7. Critical Incident Support System
8. Agency Orientation
9. Survivor Support
10. Medical and Wellness Services & Education
CLICK HERE to learn more about Armor Your Self™ Program
CLICK HERE to learn more about Armor Your Agency™ Program
CLICK HERE to read more about or contact The Law Enforcement Survival Institute
____
About CopsAlive
CopsAlive.com was founded to provide information and strategies to help police officers successfully survive their careers. We help law enforcement officers and their agencies prepare for the risks that threaten their existence. We will help your agency create the kind of place that supports and protects officers so that they can do their jobs better, safer, longer and survive to tell their grand kids all about it. We think the best strategy is for every officer to create a tactical plan for his or her life and career. We call this Tactical Wellness planning.
The Law Enforcement Survival Institute (LESI) works with individuals and organizations to help them create and sustain success in their lives and careers as law enforcement professionals. It is the primary goal of The Law Enforcement Survival Institute to become the preeminent source for training, resources and information about how to create and sustain a happy, healthy and successful life and career while providing superior law enforcement service to your community.
John Marx, Founder of The Law Enforcement Survival Institute and the Editor of CopsAlive.com. Connect with him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Our sincere Thanks to John Marx for sharing his immense insight and resources with us for this post.
by California Casualty | Nurses |
This Guest Blog post is by blogger Keith Carlson, RN, BSN. Nurse Keith, the blogger behind Digital Doorway, is the featured article in our Nurses’ News Resource: Nursing Pulse. To sign up to receive the Nursing Pulse in your inbox once a month, click here!
____________
Nursing Amidst the Holidays: A Guest blog by blogger Keith Carlson
At this time of year, most people feel the added stress and joy of the holiday season, and nurses are certainly no exception in this regard. Beginning with Thanksgiving, the pressures and expectations begin to mount exponentially, and although there’s often a great deal to celebrate and express gratitude for, some of us can feel like we’re pushed to our limits as we navigate the waters (and snows!) of the season.
Diagnosis: Alteration in Holiday Spirit
If you work in a hospital, there are most likely Christmas decorations everywhere, and other holidays—like Hannukah and Kwaanza, may also be recognized and honored.
Meanwhile, your patients may be forlorn and lonely as they spend the holidays in the hospital, and part of your unofficial nursing duties may be adding “Alteration in Holiday Spirit” to their care plan (along with interventions to assuage their suffering and sadness).
If you’re a homecare nurse, you have the honor and responsibility of visiting patients in their own homes. This type of nursing brings with it various challenges at this time of year, including patients who have no family or are too poor or ill to fully enjoy the holiday season.
Nurses employed in nursing homes and long-term care facilities also face the potential sadness and isolation of their patients, and witnessing residents’ sadness and loneliness can be a psychic burden for the sensitive nurse.
What About Your Spirit?
While you strive to lift the spirits of your patients—whether in the hospital, nursing home, or other milieu—there’s someone who should also be on your list of those in need of support: yourself! This time of year can be difficult enough without potentially carrying the burden of your patients’ loss and grief, and making sure you pay enough attention to your own needs is paramount.
In some workplaces, the high energy of the holiday season can feel very uplifting and cheerful, with office parties, gifts, cards and special treats that brighten one’s day and add a special something to the functions that still need to be accomplished.
However, if the demands of your workplace are generally intense, you may experience a variety of emotional reactions to the “cheer” being spread by the seasonal festivities, and these reactions and feelings are altogether normal.
Keeping yourself balanced and functioning at your best during this time of year is important, so recognizing how you feel and what your individual needs are is something worth paying attention to, whether those needs are emotional, physical or spiritual in nature.
Holiday Self Care for the Nurse
If the stress of the holiday season is impacting you at work or at home, there are ways to “dial down” the stressors so that you prevent illness, overwhelm and burnout.
First, you must pay close attention to the basic aspects of your self-care, and while these are universal at any time of year, they are even more important now.
Nutrition
Sweets and treats abound at holiday time, but overindulgence can lead to a suppressed immune system, gastrointestinal disturbances, weight gain, nutritional deficiencies, and feelings of lethargy and brain fog.
There are temptations around every corner at this time of year, and avoiding (or limiting) your intake of cookies, cakes, candy, alcohol and other special foods may help you to feel better, even though it’s hard to resist when they’re right under your nose.
If you have a friend or colleague who also wants to resist temptation, enlist one another as “accountability partners” and find ways to provide mutual support. Bringing alternative healthy treats to work can help, as well as collaborating on methods for avoiding the nutritional pitfalls that feel good in the moment but come back to haunt you later.
Hydration
Staying hydrated is always important for every physiological function you can think of. Regularly filling your belly with good quality water can also suppress your appetite when faced with those delectable but nutritionally poor treats that seem to be on every desk and nurses station throughout December. Skip the coffee, soda and sugary eggnog and choose water instead! Your brain and other organs will thank you.
Rest and Sleep
You may laugh, but getting enough sleep and rest is not just important, it’s crucial. The quality and quantity of your sleep impacts your ability to maintain or lose weight, function at your best, and keep an even emotional keel as the stressors increase. If you find yourself staying up too late and getting up too early (or waking up in the middle of the night to ruminate over your shopping lists , then you have to take action to get your sleep on track—stat!
Exercise
This may seem like a joke to many of us, but getting exercise is important in every season, but it’s probably true that the majority of people slack off on their exercise routines during the winter, especially as the holidays approach.
If, like me, you live in a climate where it begins to get cold in November, your summertime exercise regimen may not translate well in winter. Some of us find ourselves confused and stultified as to what to do to stay fit during the colder months, so getting a handle on this can be very important for your health and ability to resist stress and illness.
Your Emotional Well-Being
I mentioned your spirit earlier in this article, and I want to reiterate again how important it is that you pay attention to your own emotional and spiritual needs during the holiday season.
With the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, many of us are feeling grateful for the safety of our families and friends. However, the holidays can also bring up our losses, our grief, and the people who we miss and are no longer with us. Pay close heed to how you’re feeling, and reach out for help and support if you need it. Support can come from friends, mental health professionals, clergy, an Employee Assistance Program at work, or family members.
Remember, your mental and spiritual well-being are important, and if you’re feeling balanced and healthy mentally, emotionally and spiritually, it allows you to be a more effective nurse and caregiver.
Have Fun and Give Thanks
Of course, the holidays can be stressful, but they can also be joyous and celebratory. One way to care for yourself is to make sure you have time and energy for fun, for family and friends, and for giving thanks for all of the blessings in your life.
We nurses often think of others before we think of ourselves, but being a martyr doesn’t serve you or the people you care about. A nurse who practices good self-care sets an example for others around her, so be the one to set the example by paying attention to your own needs. It’s like they tell you on any airplane before the pilot takes the plane into the sky: you need to put on your own oxygen mask before you help someone with theirs. The same applies to caring for your own needs at work and at home.
Go ahead: nurture yourself, pamper yourself, and make this holiday season one that’s healthy, vibrant and balanced. You deserve it.
________________________
Keith Carlson, or Nurse Keith as he’s known to his blog community, has been in the nursing field since 1996. Keith runs a Nursing Blog called Digital Doorway. A Registered Nurse and Certified Professional Coach, Keith says he has equal passion for both, which he uses “to help nurses live the most healthy, balanced and satisfying lives possible.” When Keith isn’t busy nursing, coaching and blogging, he’s working on “RN.FM Radio: Nursing Unleashed.” Keith co-founded the station, which strives to be “a place where nursing thought leaders, entrepreneurs, writers, bloggers and gifted clinicians can make their voices heard.”
To check out Keith’s blog, click here. More information about his coaching can be found here.
To tune in to RN.FM Radio, click here.
To keep up with him on Facebook, click here.
You can find him on Twitter by clicking here!
Check out our Q& A with Nurse Keith, click here.
by California Casualty | Firefighters |
This Guest Blog post by blogger Firefighter Wife is the featured article in our Firefighters’ News Resource: Flashpoint. To sign up to receive Flashpoint in your inbox once a month, click here!
Why is my Fire Wife such a Grinch?: A Guest Blog post by Firefighter Wife blogger Lori Mercer
I’ve been married to my firefighter for over 10 years now. He’s been a firefighter for all that time. It’s all I know. And when we were young with infants in our arms and toddlers constantly underfoot, I was a hot mess of a young fire wife. I would stand at the front door at 6 am with an already fussy baby in my arms praying the 3-year-old would sleep another hour. And I’d cry as he walked out with his evil gear bag. I’d cry about why he was leaving to go have breakfast at the fire house instead of spending 10 more minutes with me. Later that day, I would imagine the wildest rescue accident possible, starring my firefighter as the victim. And when I couldn’t reach anyone at the station phone, I’d turn on the local news to confirm it wasn’t really happening. I’d fall asleep before he’d call at night and wake up angry. Convinced some toxic malice overtakes him at the firehouse and he falls out of love with me while there, refusing to call and say good night.
Yes, these are real life thoughts in the head of a young fire wife. You can chalk it up to postpartum hormones or 29-year-old learning-to-be-married selfishness. But now, only 11 blink-of-an-eye years later, my 40-year-old wisdom has finally got a grip.
Oh how I wish I could bottle my lessons up in magic fairy dust and send one to every new fire wife out there.
Maybe, just maybe, some of you can relate to these crazy fire family dynamics. And nothing makes the fire wife grinch come out on attack like the holiday season. Oh how can the holidays frustrate a fire wife. Let me count the ways.
- 12 Hours of Overtime
- 11 times being asked where your husband is while single-mom-ing the church Christmas party
- 10 gifts still left to wrap by yourself on Christmas Eve
- 9 -to-5ers bragging about 14 days off work with their family
- 8 little gifts to find for the guys on his crew
- 7 dozen cookies to bake for the neighborhood cookie exchange
- 6 text message photos from the store to figure out which gift is best for the father-in-law
- 5 upset family members because you can’t attend family Christmas on the day planned because he’s on shift
- 4 different plans to explain why Santa is arriving the morning of the 24th instead of the 25th
- 3 hour drive, by yourself, with kids in tow and car packed to the hilt, to celebrate Christmas without him at your parents
- 2 bickering kids who are missing their Daddy
- 1 tired firefighter who took a very hurt baby girl out of a mangled car at 1 am and doesn’t want to hear you whine about any of these minor annoyances
You’re a mean one, Mrs. Grinch! Is that really all I can think about? Does my firefighter really want to hear the replay AGAIN of how we’re going to pull off Santa’s arrival on the 23rd? Or another play-by-play of the conversation with the sister-in-law? Is this ringing any angelic bells for you?
Want to know some secrets that will melt your ice queen’s heart this holiday season?
Maybe not but I’m going to tell you anyhow. Here’s a little background info on what might be running around her pretty little head:
The first few years of our marriage, I spent fighting and resisting the firefighter family system. I literally grieved the holiday traditions I shared growing up with my family. I struggled to find a rhythm when one year it was Christmas on the 23rd and another on the 26th and every 3rd year we could actually travel together. I craved our own set of family traditions for the holidays and took the control freak approach to planning perfect family memories for those 12-hour periods he was home and awake on a December weekend. Putting up the tree. Driving around to see the lights at night. Baking and decorating cut out cookies with the kids.
It became forceful and stressed as I tried to fit my family traditions into the new firefighter lifestyle.
Here’s the clue. She is GRIEVING. Not rejoicing and fa-la-la-ing.
She might know only her family life traditions and yearns for sharing that with you. But like everything else in marriage, it’s new and different, and especially really weird with this wacky fire service schedule. And you only get one chance a year to test it out. Then next year, it’s different again. And some crappy years, she loses you for Thanksgiving AND Christmas AND New Year’s. And some really, really crappy years it’s Leap Year and happens twice in a row.
Here’s what NOT to say to a wife in this delicate state:
- “You know I have to go to the station. Why is this different than any other day?”
- “It’s no big deal. I’ll be home tomorrow and we’ll celebrate then.”
- “Go on and enjoy yourself at my family’s Christmas without me.”
- “Don’t wait for me. You can put the tree up with the kids.”
- “I’ll call/text you a lot.” (And then don’t. Because firefighters have busy days. But broken promises do more damage than the hope they hold.)
- “When you visit me at the fire house, it will be just like we’re all together for Christmas.” (No. It’s not just like that. It’s like celebrating with you and 8 other prankster boys. )
- “Why don’t you cook up a nice dinner for you and the kids at home on Christmas day?”
- “The kids won’t even notice what day we open gifts.”
So what *should* you do and say?
You’ve got to be on her team. To join in the cause. Simply recognize her efforts. Be understanding of those feelings. Help her grieve. Ask her how she’s feeling and brainstorm ideas for how to make it all work. If you really want to wow her, surprise her with thoughtful new traditions specially designed for your little fire family. Special ornaments. A firehouse recipe you make at home. Be present with her on your off days and enjoy some holiday cheer together.
Basically, remember the Who’s in Whoville who loved Christmas a lot. The truth is, it’s not about when or where or how you celebrate. Because Mrs. Grinch, Christmas, means a little bit more. You’ve already got the keys to heart and only you know best how to make it grow.
(PS – If she’s still a hot mess, you might want to hook her up with a bunch of other understanding fire wives in our private community at FirefighterWife.com. It’s been said multiple times that this group has helped many women understand their firefighters better and improve their marriages!)
_____________
Lori Mercer is a fire wife and mother of 4 running the Firefighter Wife community with a goal to strengthen fire marriages and be an encouragement to fire wives. She owns Picture Your Life, her Consulting Business for Internet Marketing and Web Development. Currently she cannot wait until July 25, 2013 for the first annual “Flame Fest” Fire Wife Gathering where she will finally meet in person so many amazing fire wives from the online community. Basically, she’s on fire for fire families and long over the Fire Wife Grinch stage.
Read more at the Firefighter Wife Blog! Click here!
To find her on Facebook, click here!
To follow the Firefighter Wife on Twitter, click here!
by California Casualty | Homeowners Insurance Info |
It’s officially the Holiday Season! The season of holiday lights, holiday shopping, holiday parties, and…
Home Robberies.
As you travel to visit family and friends this holiday season, be aware that the high rate of travel also leads to a spike in home robberies.
Here are some tips for keeping your home and possessions safe while you’re away:
- Install a quality home security system with burglary monitoring AND fire protection: The best defense against home robberies is a working security system. Be sure that you test your system before you head out of town to make sure you’re good to go. Also, double check that your security system has fire alarm capabilities. A fire doubles in size every 30 seconds, so the quicker your system can alert authorities, the better
- Keep your valuables out of clear site: Can you see your plasma TV from your front windows? Do you keep any jewelry near a window in your bedroom? Have a sweet sound system for all to see in your living room? Walk around the outside of your house and notice what you can see just by looking in. Before you leave town, move as many valuable out of view as possible. Close the doors of your entertainment center and put all jewlery in a locked, secure location
- Make mail & newspaper arrangements: Piled up newspapers and mail are a huge tip-off to would-be robbers. Before you leave town, either stop your mail and paper service or ask a trusted neighbor to pick them up for you. If you have a reliable neighbor you trust, this is a better option than alerting the post office that you are out of town. Again, the less people who know you are away, the better
- Take stock of your yard: Don’t keep any valuable sporting or gardening equipment outside while you’re out of town. Move everything that you can indoors or into the garage. Also, be aware of what you leave out by the trash. If you receive an expensive item, like a TV or a computer, for Christmas, don’t just leave the box by the trash- that’s advertising an expensive item in your home. Instead, break it down and bring it to recycling
- Remove a burglar’s cover: Tall and overgrown trees and shrubs are welcome hiding spots for criminals. Cut away any tall tree branches that reach upper story windows and protect against attacks from above. That doesn’t mean you need to cut down every plant in your yard. Just keep things manicured
- Do NOT broadcast your plans: No matter how tempting it is to brag about your upcoming getaway to your social media friends, keep your plans off the internet (until you return and show off your amazing pictures, of course!). The fewer people who know that you are gone, the better. Also, do not change your answering machine to say you are out of town. You never know who may ring you up while you’re gone, and you don’t want strangers to know that you are out
- Make your house look ‘lived in’: Take steps to make it look like someone is at your house. Here are some ideas:
- Ask a neighbor to park their car in your driveway. Anyone watching your house will see a car coming and going and be less likely to realize you’re away
- Ask someone to shovel your drive if it snows while you’re away
- Install outdoor and indoor lighting systems. Motion-sensor varieties are good for outdoor areas because they can stop robbers from using the cover of darkness to commit crimes. Timer varieties are good for indoors because lights turning on and off helps maintain the appearance that someone is home
- Double check your locks & entrances: Go around your house and check every door, lock, deadbolt and window. Make sure you have a solid perimeter. If your deadbolts are 10-15 years old, you need to make sure they can still withstand force. If not, replace them before you leave. For windows, look into using a dowel rod (long, skinny sticks sold at the hardware store). You can wedge them into the window frame to reinforce windows and give them more strength, as robbers cannot force windows open with a rod in place
- Don’t leave any hidden spare keys: Keep a secret key hidden on your property in case you or a family member gets locked out? Most people do. And that’s exactly why you should make sure you do not leave that key on your property when out of town. Robbers will check under rocks and around property for keys left ‘hidden’
- Tell neighbors you trust or law enforcement that you are leaving: While it’s important to minimize the number of people who know you are gone, do alert neighbors whom you trust or members of your trusted neighborhood watch program. That way, they can keep an eye out for any suspicious activity at your house. Also, look up the non-emergency number for your police department and let them know you will be leaving town.
- Be aware: Pay attention around your neighborhood. Is someone going door to door asking if a particular person is home? Has a car been parked suspiciously? These are both signs of people checking for unoccupied homes. Be alert to any behavior that is out of the ordinary and be sure to alert local law enforcement.
And last, but certainly not least, travel safely and ENJOY your holiday season with your loved ones!
