Prepping for People Who Don't Prep

I am assuming YOU are prepared, otherwise why would you be reading this blog, but while many of us are prepared for nearly anything that could happen, it's a good bet that we are surrounded by people who don't prepare for anything.  Are your parents prepared for disaster?  Your adult kids?  Your neighbors?  Your co-workers?  And what are your responsibilities to these people when (not if) TSHTF?

A common topic in prepper circles is how much should a well-prepared person provide to those who either can't or won't prepare for a disaster after said disaster happens.  Anecdotally, in many disasters, people tend to pull together to help each other out, yet there are also stories of long-term disaster areas where "disaster fatigue" sets in and people tend to look out more for number one rather than give away their hard-earned preps.

I've talked to many people, all adults, all seemingly intelligent and responsible people, who kinda sorta think they should prepare for disaster but "never get around to it".  Other people brush off the need to be prepared because they have never had to live through a disaster before and "there will always be emergency services to help out".

I guess it's "to each his own" and for the majority of people who aren't prepared, I won't be going out of my way to help them.  Our parents are long dead so that is a non-issue for us.  Our kids and grandkids are at varying degrees of preparedness but still ask for help on occasion which we are are generally happy to assist with.  Our siblings (of which there are many) can generally take care of themselves and/or have kids who help them out when needed.  I have no idea how well the neighbors are prepared.  We have many friends who, for the most part, are elderly and while financially set, they probably aren't as well prepared physically and materially for a major disaster.

There is no "right" answer in this situation as each person needs to decide how much and in what capacity they will help the unprepared.  Along with this decision is possibly adding to your own preps to sustain those you plan to help out and/or making additional plans for those that you know will be in need if a major disaster happens.  Our general consensus is that family and close friends are always welcome to come to our place if they need to evacuate a disaster area.  We generally give gifts of money (never loans, that's just asking for problems) to immediate family who are in need of assistance.  Whether we will help the neighbors and how this will be done has never actually come up; we will happily provide physical assistance if needed (providing information, helping to organize the neighborhood recovery efforts) but our food stockpile and material goods will probably be off limits depending on circumstances.

This is a good question to consider as part of your overall preparedness plan.