Your Personal Safety Kit, Get Informed on How To Stay Safe: A blog about personal safety and tips for staying safe. July 29, 2022

Just as with other aspects of life, it's important to be informed about personal safety. It's a lot of work to stay safe and healthy, but can be done if you are realistic about what you can control. One key area we want to cover today is your personal safety kit - because if something unfortunate should happen, you'll have the tools necessary to get yourself out of a situation safely!

As a society, we are becoming more and more aware of personal safety. But it is also important to get informed before you put yourself in a dangerous situation. The first step is to protect yourself from harm's way.

As a family tutor, woman, college student, child, or part of minorities communities like the lgbtq+, Black People, People of Color, Latino, and more, there are five things that are essential for you to remember and consider when trying to stay safe;

1. Make a Personal Safety Kit you can easily carry everywhere you go. #

The best personal safety kit is one that you can easily carry around with you at all times. The important thing to remember is that it should be small enough to fit in your pocket or bag, but large enough to contain the most important items you might need for an emergency situation.

Here are some things to consider when creating your personal safety kit:

• What would you need if you were attacked?
• What would you do if you got lost?
• Where would you go if there was an earthquake?
• How would you respond if someone tried to attack you?

And here we have some tips on what you should include in your Personal Safety Kit:

• Phone: First and foremost, keep your phone with you at all times. This will help you call for help if necessary, or even just check in with family members or friends to let them know where you are.
• Portable power bank: Because you’re carrying your phone with you at all times, remember to also keep nearby a portable power bank so if the battery on your phone is soon to die, you can easily charge it anywhere you are.
• Safety app on your phone: find a safety app where you can be sharing your location and important updates, and also save important private information in case something happens, ie. in case you go missing, can’t find your way back home, or even can’t physically leave your home.
• Flashlight: You should also include a flashlight with extra batteries and fresh batteries for it.
• Water or other drinkable liquid (in case of an emergency), there are some collapsible water bottles in the market that make it easier to carry around.
• ID cards; ID, Driver's license, anything that can help identify you and/or prove your identity and addresses.
• Carry cash as it's easier and faster to use at times, but don't forget 1 or 2 credit/debit cards as well.
• A whistle or horn (useful in an emergency).
• A first aid kit; it's always good to have medical supplies on hand.

How Can I Make My Personal Safety Kit More Effective?

The most important thing is to have the right tools for the job: be sure your kit has everything it needs! If there's something missing from your own personal safety kit—or if yours isn't working properly—you may find yourself in a dangerous situation without being fully prepared.

You should leave wear protective clothing such as reflective vests in your car or somewhere safe and put reflective stickers on your backpack, etc. These are all things that can keep people from identifying you as an easy target for assault or kidnapping if they see you walking alone at night or through an unfamiliar area where there may be no street lights nearby—or even if there

2. Avoid dangerous situations if you can. #

In today's world, it's easy to feel like your personal safety is in jeopardy.

You may be walking through the neighborhood late at night and hear a noise that makes you nervous. You may have a friend who isn't answering their phone, or someone is following you. Maybe it's a stranger standing outside your window when you get home. In fact, many people have experienced some form of personal danger while out and about—whether it was a mugging on the street or an attack by a stranger in public.

It's important for us as individuals to learn how to stay safe and protect ourselves from those who would do us harm. This includes learning how to avoid dangerous situations if possible, as well as being aware of what could happen if we get into trouble (and what can be done about it).

It's important to be aware of your surroundings and not to leave the house without making sure that you have your personal safety kit on you at all times.

Remember that even though we are in a safe place at school/home/work we can still be in a dangerous situation if we are unaware of our surroundings and the context. If you see someone who is acting strange or acting very aggressive towards you or someone else; stop them at all costs from hurting anyone else.

3. Think about quick escape routes before you go into new places. #

When you're in a new place, it's easy to forget about your personal safety. But it's important to remember that no matter how much we love our friends and family, we're not invincible—and if we don't watch out for ourselves, we could be putting their lives in danger.

To stay safe, think about what quick escape routes you have when you're in a new place. Think about how you'll get home if something happens, or where the nearest hospital is if someone gets hurt while they're with you (or vice versa). If you don't have one of these things already set up, it's time to start making plans!

Don’t forget to look for evacuation plans and routes, usually differentiated with signs near exit doors. All public and private places should have evacuation plans in case of fire or other disasters which may cause panic among customers or staff members who will need help evacuating from the place safely.

4. Join the Safety Network with HelpYouFind.Me #

Safety and security is a top priority for most people, but it's also something that's often overlooked. We've all heard the statistics: 80 percent of women feel unsafe walking at night, 30 percent of Americans have been victims of an attempted or completed robbery in their lifetime, and an estimated 20 million people are victims of crime each year.

But even if you don't know what to do when you're attacked or threatened, there are steps you can take to improve your personal safety. The first step is to join the Safety Network with HelpYouFind.Me– an online end-to-end encrypted platform that lets you share your most important data with the people you decide, on your own terms.

HelpYouFind.Me gives you access to tools that make staying safe easier than ever before: sharing your in-real-life location with our safe HYFM Telegram Bot, uploading and sharing your trips’ information with hotel reservations, flight details, and more. On HepYouFind.Me you can also create your own “If I Go Missing File” which essentially includes photos of yourself, physical details, medical records, instructions on what to do in case you ever go missing, emergency contact information, section about if there has been someone stalking you and so much more.

Here you can securely save all of your services’ passwords like Social Media Accounts, banking information, internet, phone, and more, as well as, digital copies of all your most important life-changing documents like birth certificates, diplomas, passports, photos of your tattoos or physical characteristics that help identify you, legal statements and anything else you desire.

As a Safety Network, you’ll be able to share all of these live-saving details with those you trust the most, by letting them have access to it on your own terms, which means, you can set different wait periods for them to wait to access your information, i.e some can have immediate access, while others must wait 24 hours, 2 days or even 7 days.

No one other than yourself and those you trust will be able to have access to your most valuable information, not even us, ever. We strongly believe that your personal private data, should be and remain private always, which is why we will never sell or give other people access to your data.

Ready to dive in? Start your free trial today.

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5. Learn self-defense or martial arts classes. #

One of the best ways to learn about staying safe is to take a self-defense class where you'll learn how to get out of potentially dangerous situations without getting hurt, or at least without being arrested. Even if you don't think you need to learn how to defend yourself, it never hurts to have those skills in case something happens.

Self-defense classes are a great way to learn how to defend yourself and your loved ones in case of an emergency. These classes teach you how to handle yourself both physically and emotionally, so you can stay as calm as possible in a dangerous situation. Many times, people who have taken self-defense or martial arts classes will find that they become more confident about their abilities and are able to better communicate with others.

Many communities offer free self-defense classes for women, men, and children. However, if you don't live near any martial arts schools or community centers, there are still ways you can find self-defense training online or through books.

Takeaway #

Like any other aspect of life, personal safety starts with you. Whether you are at work, at home, out on a date or running errands, there are things you can do to stay safe and informed. While the above steps are a quick summary of what you do to keep yourself safe, remember that it's up to you to decide how much effort and planning you want to put into staying safe. The more prepared and educated you are, the less likely danger will catch up with you when your guard is down.

Make it a habit to carry your personal safety kit with you, everywhere. Building your own kit is no easy task. For that reason, we always recommend keeping one packed in your car and having a second kit at home. From there, you can start filling it out based on your needs and the areas in which you're most likely to travel. Remember, these are just guidelines - there's no one-size-fits-all approach. So have fun with this!

Written by

Adriana Lopez