If you’re a prepper, surely you’re ready for SHTF or at least you’re working on it. But what about your family? I’m not talking about your immediate family, those who live with you, but about other family members who may live nearby or who may be scattered around the country. Or outside the country.
Chances are that they aren’t all preppers, by any definition, either die-hard or lackadaisical. You may have tried to convince them; they may disagree. They might even think you’re crazy – and believe me, there are a lot of crazy preppers. That, of course, depends on your definition of crazy.
So what happens when SHTF? Those who live at some distance are probably out of luck, but any family members that you have in the same area as yourself are likely to remember that you mentioned the possibility.
Of course you want to help your loved ones – but can you? At least one friend has said she knows what to do: come to my house! She’d probably bring a couple other people. Would I turn them away? Of course not, but that means I need to step up my stocking and have a more detailed plan instead of a vague idea in my head.
And then there are the kids – three, plus two spouses, plus three children. And another who lives about six hours away. Fortunately, this last one also lives near a prepper friend of mine and she could go to her IF she could get out of the city.
So what do we do? We plan for not just the family living here at home, but for all of them. Yes, all of them. Now, it may turn out that it’s not needed; it may be we can convince them to do their own prepping, or at least to start. Some will, some won’t. But when SHTF, it’s gonna get real.
Robin Writes 
Great points Robin. One can always assist others better from a position of preparedness, but in extreme SHTF conditions, there is a limit. The question is, where to draw the line.
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I have told only a select few family members our “GOOD” place and even given them detailed map to get there..there are some family members (sad to say) that I do not *trust* to keep our “GOOD” place or our prepping to themselves, or they think I am *nuts* for prepping so…IF the time comes and IF I feel I could take them on (caring for them), then I will make that decision to tell them…until then, they are on their own 😛 LOL
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You are starting to make me believe this is real. I have this fantasy of living my life as is for about 30 more years and plan to walk into eternity while I’m peacefully sleeping in my nice cozy bed.
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Looking after everyone would be a logistical nightmare let alone VERY expensive. Imagine if what ever happened goes on for a few weeks or months. They are extremely lucky to have someone like you Robin.
On a budget we can only afford to prep for us three i.e.
Me, the wife, and the dog.
As for the family (who laughed at our preps)?
We’ll send flowers. . . . eventually.
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Hmmm. Sending flowers… after SHTF. This could be a whole blog post, lol!
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The unfortunate reality is, you can’t take in everyone. If your sister/brother is married, their spouse isn’t going to want to leave their other sister, brother, mother, father, behind, who will want to bring their husbands, kids, pets etc. And they will have family members they just “can’t” leave behind.
There’s a choice to make. Survive or don’t survive. If you have food for five, then five is the limit unless those coming along can provide a significant contribution.
This happens to be my personal SHTF dilemma – What about those in my family who are not prepared? In addition to the two of us, we could probably take 3-4 more. The trouble is, we have three married brothers and a sister, and a busload of nieces and nephews, and great nieces and great nephews.
And what about that “no-good-brother-in-law” moron that you’d just as soon shoot than look at?
MJ
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Very true. But regardless of who’d want to leave whom behind, the biggest issue is proximity. Just in this metro area, we’re looking at 12-15. And while I’m certainly not prepared, regarding supplies, for this number – yet – most could make other types of contributions. It’s a balancing act.
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I agree with you about balancing contributions, I just don’t know how I would deal with a literal busload of people.
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