Article #002- Why Most Families Aren’t Actually Prepared

The majority of households in America are responsible for their own safety and survival during the first minutes, hours, and sometimes days of an emergency. Research consistently shows most households possess little to no emergency supplies, and readiness capability drops drastically when measured against what a real emergency requires for survival. Survival requires the right supplies and the training to use them.

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Majority of Households Rely on Local Governments

Many households assume local governments, emergency responders, and community resources will be immediately available when emergencies occur.

• FEMA reports roughly half of Americans feel unprepared.

• Nearly half of Americans lived in a county with a federal disaster declaration in 2024.

• National EMS systems routinely experience surge events during severe weather.

• Most local fire and EMS departments operate with finite staffing and apparatus.

  
  

The issue isn't whether emergency responders want to help. It's that no emergency system is designed to simultaneously serve every household in a community. When a structure fire occurs or a vehicle crash happens, an ambulance call comes in and emergency services can concentrate resources on a single incident. During a community-wide emergency, however, hundreds or thousands of people may need assistance simultaneously.

Many households assume emergency responders will be available immediately when needed. The reality is that readiness begins at home. The more prepared a household is before an emergency occurs, the less dependent it becomes on already strained government resources. Surveys consistently show that most American households lack emergency plans, adequate supplies, or the training needed to remain self-sufficient.

What Supplies Do Most Households Have?

Most Americans have the following supplies readily available:

• Flashlights

• Bottled water

• Batteries

• Basic OTC medications

• Cell phones

• Fire extinguishers

The challenge isn't that these items are useless. The challenge is that they don't solve every problem an emergency creates. While these supplies are necessary pieces of a household's emergency supplies, most preparedness efforts stop here because they are inexpensive, familiar, and easy to understand. Let's play out a scenario with only these supplies.

Scenario

Wind and rain beat against your windows. This storm front moved in suddenly and shows no sign of letting up anytime soon, so you turned your evening into a movie night. Your kids are huddled under blankets, and you're cuddling with your spouse on your couch. The wind starts howling and you hear a loud cracking sound outside and then your window suddenly shatters into pieces. The sound of the wind almost drowns out completely the shocked screams of your family. You rush to check on everyone, and suddenly you are aware of the shards of glass penetrating your arm. Everyone else seems to be ok, but your blood has quickly covered your entire arm now. You look over at your spouse who is frantically typing on their phone and then holding it up to their ear. One of your kids runs over to you with a kitchen towel for your arm. The blood is flowing out quickly. "Hello? Hello?!?!?!?! Yes, we need an ambulance right away! My husband is bleeding a lot from his arm. What? Can you repeat that? Yes my address is... It will take HOW long?!?!?!? 2 hours!!!!!!" Your spouse continues to talk to 911 for another minute and then ends the call and stares at you. "The ambulance is not going to be here for a few hours, they've only got two available and they're already on calls. Too many calls coming in and they'll get to us as soon as they can. What do we do?!?!?!"

This scenario can happen anywhere in the US and while most Americans expect emergency responders to arrive quickly during a crisis, a community wide emergency like this scenario routinely stretches police, fire, EMS, and public works resources beyond their normal capacity. This is exactly why every household should have the right supplies and the right training. Sounds simple, so why aren't there more Americans who feel ready? What stops them from doing so? It's a combination of cost, confusion, optimism bias, and competing priorities.

Breaking Down the Barriers

1. Where to start

   According to the NIH, the leading barrier reported (23.7% of respondents). is "confusion about how to plan for the unknown" People know emergencies happen, but many struggle to translate that knowledge into concrete action. How to break this barrier: Build your emergency plan. You want a plan that can be easily understood by your whole household and outlines at minimum the following: emergency contacts, local first responder contact details, emergency tools and supplies and their locations, and evacuation plans with meeting locations.

2. Thinking about emergencies creates anxiety For many people, preparedness is psychologically uncomfortable. Thinking about disasters, accidents, or emergencies creates anxiety, so preparation is simply postponed indefinitely. How to break this barrier: Emergencies inherently come with uncertainty. Uncertainty creates anxiety. Psychological research shows that planning is the opposing factor to uncertanity. A plan doesn't eliminate emergencies, but it replaces uncertainty with action and simultaneously reduces stress and anxiety.

3. Not enough budget A 2025 national preparedness survey found that 52% of respondents cited the cost of supplies as a key reason they were not fully prepared. 37% of Americans could not comfortably cover an unexpected $400 expense with cash (https://www.federalreserve.gov/ How to break this barrier: Doomsday preppers and influencers will tell you that you "have" to have a fully stocked supply bunker or you're not "properly prepared". That simply is not true. Prioritize your supply needs and build a budget to buy small increments of gear and obtain the proper training to use that gear. Some gear in trained hands is better than a bunker full of expensive gear in untrained hands.

4. Optimism bias 53% of Americans believe they are less likely than others to be affected by an emergency of disastor. This is known as Optism Bias. People generally believe emergencies happen to other people, in other places, at other times. That belief delays preparation until after an emergency occurs. How to break this barrier: Believe the statistic. Nearly half of Americans lived under a federal disaster declaration in 2024. Almost every county in the United States has experienced flooding. The average American reports experiencing four natural disasters during their lifetime. Millions visit emergency departments every year, and millions more are involved in vehicle crashes.
   

Now let's go back to the scenario and see what it could have looked like if you have broken down these barriers.

You rush to check on everyone, and suddenly you are aware of the shards of glass penetrating your arm. Everyone else seems to be ok, but your blood has quickly covered your entire arm now. One of your kids runs to grab you M.A.R.C.H supplied first aid kit. Your spouse is checking your arm while they have Siri call 911. "Hello? Hello?!?!?!?! Yes, a window shattered in our home and my husband has several shards of glass that have penetrated his right arm causing severe bleeding. Yes my address is... " Your child is back with your first aid kit and already has pulled out a tourniquet, several bandages and wound packing gauze. You and your kids start working on your arm to stop the bleeding and your spouse comes over after ending the call with 911. "This storm has caused major damages to our whole neighborhood and 911 got a lot of calls. Responders will get here when they can but not anytime soon. Let's get dad's bleeding under control, grab him a blanket to keep warm, and then we got to plug up this window."

The ability to act, know what resources are needed and readily available, and what skills to utilize= real readiness. A full kit, even with the right tools and supplies, is just expensive clutter if you don't know how to use them.

So What do You Actually Need?

It shocks people to hear that the most important pieces of your emergency readiness aren't your supplies or gear- it's your plan, and having the skills to back it up. Supplies are necessary tools, but action doesn't come with tools. It comes with confidence in your capabilities.

Critical Items:

• Written emergency plans

  • Family reunification plan included

  • Communications plans

• First aid supplies

• Bleeding control equipment

• Long-term food and water reserve

Critical Skill Sets/Training

• M.A.R.C.H training

• CPR and BLS training

• Radio and HAM radio usage and familiarity

  
  

PrepOS™ exists to help individuals, families, and communities build practical readiness before an emergency occurs.

Preparedness is not built during emergencies. It's built before them.

Build My Emergency Plan

Key Takeaways

• Help may be delayed, but emergencies won't wait.

• Supplies without training are just expensive clutter.

• A simple plan beats panic every time.

• Small steps today create readiness tomorrow.

• The best time to prepare is before you need it.

• Preparedness is built before emergencies, not during them.

  
  

Additional Resources

• National Library of Medicine (NIH)

• PrepOS™- Bundle (includes all 6 readiness building blocks)

• M.A.R.C.H and first aid supplies

This article is for educational purposes only and does not replace professional medical training, diagnosis, or emergency medical care.