Read on Twitter
Sharing some tips I’ve learned from doing wellness checks!
Keep in mind I’m not a professional or a medic, so please add or correct me if there are things I’m missing.
Ok thread incoming:
Keep in mind I’m not a professional or a medic, so please add or correct me if there are things I’m missing.
Ok thread incoming:
1. Bring as few people as possible. A well trained, trauma informed medic and one or MAYBE two people who personally know the person being checked on is plenty.
2. Keep calm. Calm attitudes spread calm attitudes. The last thing to do is show up to the house panicked and demanding emotional work from the person you’re supposed to be checking on. Be a good listener.
3. Your own safety matters. If someone demands you get off the property or if you are in danger, leave the property and regroup and make a new strategy. You’re there to help and we don’t want to have to send another group to then check on *your* safety!
4. NEVER share the personal info of the person you are checking on w anyone but those immediately involved in the wellness check.
Ask: who needs to know what? If one person has the address, the others probably don’t. Meet up and carpool.
Ask: who needs to know what? If one person has the address, the others probably don’t. Meet up and carpool.
5. Same thing goes for phone numbers. If you have called repeatedly and gotten no response, sharing the # and having others call probably isn’t helpful and is probably actually harmful by being overwhelming and adding to panic. Use discretion.
6. Approach property in the most non-threatening ways possible. Knock on doors gently. Give time. Don’t yell or try to break in. Call softly if you need to. These things can be really scary and cause someone to not answer the door or trigger a panic attack etc.
7. Bringing things like cigarettes, weed, or a favorite drink/food if you know it can be really nice too. Just anything that’s comforting and kind.
8. Wellness checks are not primarily for your own peace of mind or for the community’s. They are for the person you are worried about. Centering them is KEY.
9. ASK how and what they’d like information to be shared. The impulse can be to blast that they’re ok, which is totally understandable, but it’s paramount to ask first what information they want shared and when. Again - center THEM.
10. Ok last one! Make a plan for ongoing communication. Maybe have one point person dedicated to contact them consistently and who they have agreed to respond to or something like that. If we can all put this into practice before we get in crisis it could be really helpful too.
11. Nvm I thought of some more tips 
Don’t come dressed in bloc! Dress recognizably, and as a civilian. State who you are and identify yourself if you can.
Don’t come dressed in bloc! Dress recognizably, and as a civilian. State who you are and identify yourself if you can.
12. Call and text ahead to let them know you’re coming to check on them. Even if they haven’t responded to anything, this is important to do as there is a chance they’ll see it beforehand or will see it later and will know that whoever knocked on their door were safe people.
13. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Gushing about how worried u were, how glad u were to find them, or how hard it was to locate them etc can cause people to feel guilty. Just use discretion and communicate that it is no big deal & you’re happy to bc there bc they matter to you
14. Don’t go digging for alternative contact methods. This can be super unnerving. Let a few people who know the person directly contact them and wait patiently for updates.