Preparing for Civil Unrest: Situational Awareness, Shelter-in-Place, and Keeping Your Family Safe

The summer of 2020 saw civil unrest in more than 140 American cities following the death of George Floyd. Businesses were damaged, curfews were imposed, and residents in affected neighborhoods faced days of uncertainty about whether to stay home or leave. Many had no plan. In 2021, disruptions near the U.S. Capitol left workers and residents in downtown Washington, D.C., scrambling to find safe routes home. In both cases, the people who fared best were those who had thought through their options in advance.

This guide is not political. Civil unrest can arise from any number of causes across the political spectrum, and preparedness is a practical matter regardless of one's views on the underlying events. The goal here is simple: to help you protect yourself and your family if unrest occurs in your area.

1Situational Awareness: Knowing Before It Starts

The most effective preparation for civil unrest happens before any incident begins. Situational awareness — the practice of actively monitoring your environment and recognizing developing threats — is the foundation of personal safety in any scenario, and it is especially valuable for civil unrest because these events rarely materialize without warning.

Monitor local news and social media for reports of planned protests, demonstrations, or events that have the potential to escalate. Follow your local police department's social media accounts and sign up for your city's emergency alert system. Pay attention to patterns: if tensions in your community have been elevated for days or weeks, the probability of a disruptive event is higher, and you should be more attentive to your surroundings.

When you are away from home — at work, running errands, or traveling — maintain awareness of exits, crowd dynamics, and the general mood of your environment. This is not paranoia; it is the same awareness that allows you to notice a fire exit before you need it. If you sense that a situation is deteriorating, trust that instinct and move away from the area calmly and deliberately.

2The Shelter-in-Place Decision

One of the most important decisions you will face during civil unrest is whether to stay home or leave. This decision depends heavily on your specific circumstances: your location relative to the unrest, the nature and scale of the disruption, whether you have family members at other locations, and the safety of available routes out of the area.

In most cases of localized civil unrest, sheltering in place is the safer option. Attempting to drive through an area of active unrest can put you directly in harm's way, and roads may be blocked by crowds, police cordons, or debris. If you are at home and the unrest is not in your immediate block, staying put and monitoring the situation is generally preferable to attempting to navigate through it.

If you decide to shelter in place, take practical steps to reduce your visibility and vulnerability. Move away from windows and exterior walls. Keep lights low at night to avoid drawing attention. Do not go outside to observe or photograph what is happening. Charge your phone and portable battery packs. Have your go-bag accessible in case the situation deteriorates and you need to leave quickly.

The decision to leave should be made early — before roads are blocked and before the situation has escalated to the point where travel is dangerous. If you have advance warning that unrest is likely in your area, consider leaving proactively to stay with family or friends in a less affected area until the situation stabilizes.

3Communication and Family Plans

Civil unrest frequently disrupts normal communication patterns. Cell networks become overloaded as thousands of people simultaneously try to reach family members. Social media fills with conflicting reports, rumors, and misinformation. Having a pre-established family communication plan removes the need to make decisions under stress.

Establish a family meeting point — ideally two, one near your home and one farther away — and make sure every family member knows both locations. Designate an out-of-area contact who can serve as a communication hub (long-distance calls often go through when local calls fail). Agree in advance on what each family member should do if they cannot reach home: where to go, who to contact, and how long to wait before moving to the secondary meeting point.

If family members are at work, school, or other locations when unrest begins, establish clear protocols for each scenario. Most schools have lockdown procedures and will not release students until the situation is safe — understand your school's policy before an incident occurs. For family members at work, establish whether they should shelter in place at their workplace or attempt to return home, and under what conditions each decision should be made.

4Protecting Your Home and Property

While your personal safety is always the priority, there are reasonable steps you can take to reduce the vulnerability of your home during a period of civil unrest. These steps are not about fortification — they are about reducing the likelihood that your home becomes a target of opportunity.

Remove or secure any items from your front yard, porch, or driveway that could be used as projectiles or that might attract attention. If you have a business, consider boarding windows if significant unrest is anticipated — this is a standard precaution that many business owners took in 2020 and that significantly reduced property damage. Ensure your home's exterior lighting is functional; well-lit properties are less attractive targets than dark ones.

Keep vehicles in a garage if possible, or parked in a less visible location. Have a full tank of gas — gas stations may close during extended unrest, and you want the ability to leave quickly without stopping to refuel. Keep at least two weeks of food and water on hand so that you are not dependent on stores that may be closed or inaccessible.

5Mental Health and Community Resilience

Civil unrest is psychologically taxing in ways that natural disasters often are not. The human element — the knowledge that the threat comes from other people rather than from nature — adds a layer of fear, anger, and grief that can be difficult to process. Children are particularly vulnerable to the anxiety and confusion that civil unrest can generate.

Maintain honest, age-appropriate communication with children about what is happening. Acknowledge their fears without amplifying them. Limit their exposure to distressing news coverage and social media. Maintain routines as much as possible — regular mealtimes, bedtimes, and activities provide a sense of stability and normalcy that is genuinely protective against trauma.

For adults, monitor your own news consumption. Constant exposure to distressing content — even when it feels like staying informed — can significantly worsen anxiety and impair decision-making. Set specific times to check for updates rather than monitoring continuously. Reach out to neighbors and community members; social connection is one of the most powerful buffers against the psychological effects of crisis.

After a period of civil unrest, communities that recover most effectively are those with strong social bonds. Participating in neighborhood associations, community meetings, and local civic organizations before a crisis builds the relationships and trust that make collective resilience possible.