Someone you already know and trust is good, but even if you don’t know your buddy very well yet, they can help you out in dangerous situations–and you can help them.

If you need a medic and are incapacitated, your buddy can help flag one down.

If you’re on the ground unconscious, your buddy can tell medics if you got stung by a bee and need an epi pen, or if you got hit with a rock and have a head injury. It cuts down on the time it takes for the medic to judge what you need, and in an emergency, seconds save lives.

If you get arrested but your buddy doesn’t, your buddy can get details to your important people, like your family and your lawyer.

If you go missing, your buddy may be the person who saw you last, and can provide key details to help people find you.

If the fash wants to corner you, having a buddy makes it harder and more dangerous for them to try.

It’s easier to stay safe when we look out for each other, and having a designated buddy makes that so, so much easier.

“But I don’t have any friends willing to come with me!” Doesn’t have to be a close friend, just someone who can watch your back. They need to be someone you can trust, so obviously you shouldn’t just grab a random bystander, but you don’t have to be best friends who know everything about each other.

This is why organizing is so, so important–even if you don’t know the individual people super well, being with a group allows everyone to pair up with a buddy they know they can trust, because the organization has ideally vetted everyone and deemed them safe.

If you absolutely cannot bring or find a buddy, you have to be extra careful, because being alone in an emergency is significantly harder and more dangerous. There is strength in numbers, and there is power in organizing.

Don’t try to take the world on by yourself, friends. Bring a buddy.