Welcome to Real World Preparedness & Survival 101. We were previously known as South Jersey Survival Skills. Will has changed the name to reflect his vision of a much broader practical approach to preparedness, self-reliance and survival.
All are welcome to join us. We are a friendly, family, team oriented and broadminded group. South Jersey Survival Skills is an apolitical group comprised of people with many diverse perceptions and beliefs, all joined together as network of friends working individually and as a team to assure our joint survival in a crisis. All levels of skill and experience are welcome, you do not have to have a skill or knowledge to join, just be willing to learn and be interested in the topic. We only ask that you please park any political, religious or other divisive rhetoric at the door. (We appreciate and respect, even promote the idea that everyone has strong beliefs and are true to them.) If you do have skills and knowledge to share there is generally ample opportunity at every meeting to do so.
Our approach is Survival through Self Reliance, Self Sufficiency and Preparedness. If you have skills and a mindset that nurture a strong sense of Self Sufficiency or wish to build them we are looking for you. We are focused on what the real, everyday person, who has a job and a full, active life (civilian) will actually be able to do in order to overcome their daily survival challenges. We believe that if you are ready to handle those challenges you are more likely to survive a more significant crisis on the rare occasion of such. Massive events are few and far between. We are more concerned about things that happen every day; like a breakdown on a back road, a power outage due to an accident in your area, or an unexpected problem while hiking in the wilderness, than troubling over the possibility of some "doomsday" scenario. Common challenges drive you to learn and practice new skills and refresh old ones, building confidence and reliable skills for those unusual natural and man-made disasters.
Our presentations in this group are meant to be primers to excite people's interests into further exploring topics, skills and experiences in various related subjects. They are not "expert classes" (as no one is ever and expert). The aim is to create a forum for conversation; a starting point for beginners and to offer an opportunity for more experienced people to share their input so that all can benefit from their knowledge and experience in a civil, orderly and digestible format.
Once we get to know you, you may apply to join our advanced group; Practice Self Reliance, Preparedness and Survival. We are not focused on hiking, bush craft, primitive skills or weapons. They are all great skills and activities, we do touch on them occasionally. There are many other groups out there who do a great job focusing individually on those specific skills. We encourage people to experience them too. The organizers of this group believe that it is important to hear many voices to find balance in life. We hope to be a positive part of the conversation. No tin foil hats here, we are not "Doomsday Preppers" and there are no bunkers here. Simply solid, fact filled presentations and rounded discussions regarding all facets of self-reliance and self-sufficiency in the urban, suburban and wilderness survival environments. Businesses who would like to sponsor the group or demonstrate their wares are asked to contact Will to discuss particulars. Any members who have any specialized skills pertaining to survival please contact Will regarding the opportunity to present. If you host or organize a Meetup Group or other group and wish to announce an upcoming event of interest or meeting, contact the organizers prior to mentioning it on the site. Please see the discussion board posting titled: Meetup Group Phishing and Sniping. Violations of that rule will result in immediate deletion.
These are not public organizations, we are building a private group of productive and active members to increase preparedness and strengthen the communities in which the members reside. We are very serious about privacy and protecting our members from unwanted solicitations and worse. Our Meetup.com groups are therefore locked as private and require that you are verified and approved as a member.
Please provide honest information and thoroughly answer the questions in the member profile. You must verify your identity (privately via email and text) with the Organizer prior to acceptance. This process is solely for the protection of privacy and safety of our members and attendees.
We reserve the right to refuse admittance to those who are disruptive, disrespectful or attempt to phish the group for commercial or organizational gains without approval of the Organizer.
We also work to maintain only members who are actively involved and participate. In the event that you are unable to attend regularly you will be removed in order maintain that goal.
