General Safety Tips

These should be (I hope) common sense, but I can never be too sure with Koose.

• Avoid walking alone at night as much as possible, even on campus (duh)

• Don't use headphones when walking around at night, you need to be aware of your surroundings at all times

• Carry not just pepper spray gel, but a small knife of something in case of emergencies

• Any time you go out drinking, always have a plan for how to get home. Have a plan A, plan B and C. What if the person who was originally supposed to take you home becomes unavailable? Have someone you can call, use uber/lyft as a last resort if you're intoxicated. "But Om, isn't uber safe?" You would think, but let me share a story from work. One client (a sex offender obv) is in our program because he was a lyft driver and took a girl home. The girl was drinking at a friends house and they got into an argument so she decided to leave. The guy picked her up and offered to take her back to his house for a drink, she's drunk off her ass so naturally, she agrees. She wakes up the next morning and has to go to the hospital for a rape kit because she can't remember a damn thing from the night before. When you're drunk, your inhibitions vanish, you're more trusting and much less cautious. These are the kinds of things that happen when you left your guard down. Always have a plan and try your best to have someone you know and trust available to help you in case of an emergency. When you go out, there is strength in numbers.