The Lone Worker is one who is on his or her own in community settings, when they cannot be seen or heard by another person. They may go into the community for job-related work and they do not always have direct contact with a co-worker or supervisor. They may work in remote or isolated locations. Workers who may be defined as the “Lone Worker” include, but are not limited to:

       - Healthcare, social workers, public health nurses, aid workers, ministers

       - Utility workers, construction workers, real estate agents, building inspectors,  sales personnel in community settings, truck drivers,

       - Public employee code enforcers,  inspectors, temp agency workers,

       - Drivers while  in making deliveries, in public areas (e.g. malls, sidewalks, elevators, garages),

       - Gas station attendants, convenience store personnel, food outlet employees.

Content: Victim Avoidance and Personal Safety in Field Settings

1. Risks of Victimization in Field Work Settings

       a.     Field Home Environment Risks

       b.     Risks in Community Settings

       c.      Potential Perpetrators

       d.     Behavioral Indicators of Aggressive Individuals

2. Situational Awareness / Victim Avoidance 

       a.      Did you See It Coming?

       b.     The “Fight, Flight or Freeze” Reactions

       c.      Paradigm Shift: Seeing the World Differently

       d.      Non-Verbal Pre- Attack Indicators

3. Developing a Survival Mentality Scanning your Environment for Threats

       a. Looking for Threats

       b. Planning Contingencies if in Danger

       c. Taking Action!

4. Choosing your Personal Safety Strategy

       a.  10 Seconds to Safety

       b.   Active Listening / De-escalation

       c.   ABCs of Verbal Diffusion

5. Safely Exiting At-Risk Field Situations

       a. “Exit Excuses”

6. Using Agency and Law Enforcement Resources

Program includes discussions and videos of incidents to demonstrate and illustrate differentsituations of conflict and personal safety counter measures.