Step 3: Locate and Map Gathering Places for the At-risk Populations You Have Identified

Collaborate with your partners to find the places where your identified populations gather. This will help you to locate individuals and groups within these populations. People who share important aspects of their lives gravitate socially and geographically to traditional gathering places or venues where they feel comfortable.

Obvious examples are soup kitchens for homeless populations or day-worker sites that attract undocumented immigrants. In very small communities, the post office may be a central point for daily information sharing and community updates, and the local postmaster is often a knowledgeable and trusted community resource. Commercial locations can be important gathering places. For example, people who live in remote rural areas gather at shopping locations on weekends. In many cases, employees at these stores will be trusted information sources because they are part of extended families in the area and are therefore excellent resources to find people and share health or emergency information.