Be Safe As A Female Traveler: Create A Nomad Safety Plan

Initially, when I started writing this I was going to target it for being solo. But I’m not really solo, since I have Willow. In a lot of the groups I am in, on every vanlife channel and every blog there is a concern for safety. What do you do for protection? How do you find safe places to park?

In this blog, we are going to cover a safety plan, why it is important to have a safety plan, and the people with whom you need to share this safety plan. If all of this doesn’t make you feel safe then maybe you need to consider that this life isn’t for you.

An Important Distinction

I chose this life. But not so long ago, I was doing the same thing and it wasn’t by choice. I’ve been homeless several times in my life. As a child, fleeing abuse, my mother and I lived on people’s couches, in our car, in hotels and there was even a time where I lived with my best friend and her family while I don’t even know where my mother went or what my mother did.

As an adult, I got kicked out of where I was living twice so I slept in my car. I was homeless in Los Angeles, twice. I bounced around, learning where I could and couldn’t park and I got the dreaded tap on the window by police.

So I learned how to wash my hair in the bathroom sink VERY quickly and changed in the stalls. I always bought something (usually a doughnut and chocolate milk) because I felt bad for doing this and I thought it would keep me safer from having the cops called on me. I rotated what gas stations I used and I went to several Panera’s to use their internet and to eat and keep cool in the summer. I didn’t have a pet so that made it somewhat easier. I only had one close call (if you can even call it that) and I just got in my car and moved to another spot. I did what I needed to in order to continue living. And guess what? You will too.

Why Is It Important To Create A Safety Plan

So now that as an adult I am living in a van “on the streets” by choice I am VERY vocal about making that distinction. When I didn’t have a choice I didn’t have a plan. I developed one as time went on, sure. But more importantly, I learned that you plan and you plan and you make good with whatever one works. You don’t get disparaged by having to go from Plan A to Plan B or even that you’re on Plan D (which is renting a hotel for the night by the way).

It’s also important to create a safety plan because it gives you an added peace of mind. You don’t have to have it all together in a crisis. Knowing yourself is important. If you know that you clam up or have a panic attack or other kind of freak out whenever something bad happens then this can lessen that chance. Just like little kids in school doing fire drills – when it really happens you’ll already know what to do.

In addition, it is important to create a safety plan because no matter how safe you think someplace maybe, that can change at a moment’s notice. Take, for example, this post from one of those Facebook groups I talked about.

I have edited the post for the safety of the original poster (OP from here on out) and asked OP if I could use this on the blog (thanks!). She lives in a gated condo community. She was home when this happened. They took nothing of ‘value’ (she said they stole her backpack that had dirty dishrags in it). But to me, they did take something of value. They took her comfort. She thought by parking her van in a gated area that it would be safe, but it turns out that break-ins and the dreaded knock can happen anywhere and at any time. This is the importance of a safety plan.

Creating A Safety Plan

It isn’t that hard. What do you do in case of fire? In case of some other emergency? Who do you call first? So many people have “wing it” and I just cannot relate. When I am in a crisis I am VERY good with compartmentalizing and just getting through it. But that is my PTSD at work. Once the moment has passed and I’m “in the clear” my brain actively works against me because whenever it is LEAST convenient is when I am going to break down and freak out about it. For my dad’s suicide, it was a year later, just to give you an example.

All you are doing when you create a safety plan is write out a concise order in which you will do things for a given event. For example, if someone was to break into your van (with you in it and without you in it) what do you do? Who do you call? I literally just grab the sheet “In Case of Emergency” and there it is. I’ve got copies of all my ID documents and everything I need should something happen.

Sharing Your Safety Plan

Who you decide to share your safety plan with is an extremely personal choice. You may not want to share it with everyone in your family but you should select one friend and one family member to share it with. These (at least) 2 people should be able to contact one another to confirm that neither has heard from you in however many days/weeks/months you decided would be okay. These should be people who follow you on social media. That way they know “ok, they are still blogging, sharing on Instagram, or posting to Facebook they just haven’t checked in,” so they don’t call the national guard looking for you. Don’t go on a side hike if it isn’t planned. That’s how you get lost and they find your bones years later picked clean from wildlife.

There should also be an agreed-upon procedure for how and where to post that they are looking for you if you go missing. Include Facebook Group names! For example, there is a “Lost or Missing Campers” group – decide what information they should post there. Another example, if you are planning on going to an annual event like the Escapee’s event, Skooliepalooza, or Midwest Vanlife Gathering, make sure it is known that you are going and the route you plan to take.

The next thing sounds, super morbid but it’s VERY important. You’re going to write your own missing person ad. You decide what picture (make sure it is recent and change it anytime you change your haircut or color) they should use. Include identifying marks such as scars, tattoos, or piercings (even if they aren’t in anymore they will leave behind a mark or scar). You’ll want your height, weight, eye color, and build (slender, stocky, athletic, etc.) as well as other things that aren’t related to physical description. These include health conditions – physical or mental, they should be listed so that emergency services, as well as search and rescue, can get you the right help if needed when they find you. The reason this is important is that, well, it is what police are going to ask for. Your emergency contact most likely won’t know what you are wearing or what your attitude was when you left so when you write that down on your safety plan that gives the proper authorities an advantage.

The Nomad Safety Plan

If you want, you can download the PDF file called Nomad Safety Plan located below:

*Print it and fill it out. I highly recommend laminating it and using a dry erase marker to fill it out on trips. Then keep it somewhere someone will see it if they find your van but not you.

**You don’t have to print your missing person’s ad, but you should email a copy to your emergency contacts in case they should need it.