How Young Adults Can Stay Safe in their Own Homes

Two weeks into the New Year, 24 year old Susan Njoki, and Mount Kenya University student Elias Nduku’s lives have been cut short prematurely.

Susan’s body was found at City mortuary on Monday after she went missing on December 30, 2018. Elias was found lying lifeless in his hostel by a janitor on Sunday morning.

One thing Susan and Elias had in common was that they were both young and were living alone when they met their death.This begs the question, is it safe for young people to live alone? How can young people be assured of their safety especially those who live alone?

However, there are measures which the youth can take to ensure their safety is assured.

Know your neighbours

Take time to know those who live around you. Develop a friendship with at least one or two who can can keep an eye on your home when you are not around.  Your neighbours can also be of help in times of distress. Knowing your neighbours is also important as it will help you detect any peculiar behaviours which must be reported to the police.

Accountability

Always make it a point to inform your family or close friends of your whereabouts. Yes you may need your privacy but telling someone trustworthy of your whereabouts makes it easy to trace you incase anything happens.It is not wise to share about your whereabouts on social media. Someone might just follow you.

     Avoid posting everything on social media

In this era of social media, you might get carried away in posting all your nitty gritty. while your social media accounts are your own personal space, you may want to cut down a bit on how much information you reveal. You just never know who may be following you and what their intentions might be.

Have a plan

You need to create an exit strategy in case something bad happens for example a fire or a break in. Make a point of knowing your surroundings well. Information on the nearest hospital, police station, chief’s camp, fire exit, estate gates etc should be at your fingertips.

Secure your home

Make an effort to secure your home by always locking the doors properly when inside or outside. Invest in a genuine padlock, close the windows and ensuring your walkways and communal corridors are lit. You can come together as tenants and request for security cameras to be installed in your estate as well as street lights.

    Avoid letting contractors or strangers into your house when you are alone.

Invite some friends over to keep you company if your house is being worked on. This creates the impression that you do not live alone which reduces your chances of being a target in the future. Incase you are having a party, try and make sure you know who is coming in advance and minimise the number of strangers coming. Some people may be coming to your party to spy on you, what you have and your security measures.