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Around here that happens a lot as there is a lot of territory between towns or houses sometimes. I know a lot of places where you can be 40 or 50 miles from any assistance, and with our weather it can quickly become a life threatening situation. Cell coverage is spotty here too, so most of the natives in the state will stop and offer assistance in that situation.
We are still pretty rural here in this state, and most of the time, assisting a stranger in that kind of situation is pretty safe, but if it isn't, most of us are armed at all times anyway.
In a true SHTF, I doubt there would be to many refugees around here anyway as we are a long way from population centers, add to that our inclimate weather, and large areas with no water or shelter, we aren't a real destination choice for people trying to find resources to live.
In this state, outside city limits, most of the natives are pretty self reliant anyway, and we already pool resources like labor or parts for tractors or machinery between family and neighbors, so it wouldn't be too different from what is already here.
Even the city folk usually have gardens, and survival kits in their cars, so our situation in Montana is somewhat different from most places, but probably pretty similar to Alaska.
If somebody is starving, and I have some food, I have no problem sharing. If someone is stranded and need help, I always stop to check on them, if somebody is looking for a hand out, they will find pretty slim pickin's around me, so they shouldn't even bother asking.
Just the way it is.
Similar to how we live in rural Australia. The locals have their heads screwed on but the city folk who find themselves lost out here, that's another story. We heard a car in trouble the other night, sounded like he was bogged. We were about to go out when we heard the car get free and drive on. We saw him go past the far gates of the property next door and listened for a bit longer to see if he made it ok. It had been raining heavily and DH remembered that there was a badly bogged section a few fields over so we got some rope, spade and flashlight and took off after him to make sure he was ok. We're talking an area which has creek crossings and sporadic dirt roads, otherwise it's 'see where the flatter grass is, that's the road'.
He was turning back as we approached and was hopelessly lost. And he only had a 2WD. Being lost out there is scary enough but on a dark night after lots of rain, forget it. He followed us back to the road he needed to be on and hopefully made it to his final destination. We'd do that for anyone and also if the part-time neighbors were ever in dire straits we'd help them out too, even though we normally don't want anything to do with them. In an isolated area you have that responsibility I think. We feel like we have a real SHTF property, which we'd no doubt become a lot more protective of if that scenario occurred.
(Yeah, I'd be the crazy toothless dame on the front porch rocker with my gun, so git, varmint)!
What I have found overwhelmingly is that most people who 'need help' get that way, 99.99999% of the time, because they weren't paying attention - to their children, to their own lives, to the car making a funny noise or their stovepipe needing cleaning, or to the world around them. Rather than suck it up and accept responsibility for their own actions, they simply sit still and shriek for help. Woe betide whomever helps them - rather than suddenly start to accept responsibility for their own lives and mistakes, they seek scapegoats to blame, more people to provide what they refuse to provide for themselves but still think that they 'deserve', and more and more people to succor them in their victimhood.
I thought that I was alone in this thought process. I don't think I've ever helped anyone who couldn't be classified in this way. The real kicker though is when you turn off the assistance faucet and they then complain you're being unfair and get really shirty. Now I run a policy of "If I pull your butt out of the fire because you did something stupid, shame on you, If you put your butt in the fire again because you did something stupid, shame on you again, and get used to having a hot @ss, your emergency hasn't even appeared on my priority list, so it's below severing my fingers to find out how it feels".
I've helped people before and will do it again. These were people injured even in cities where other people just walk and or drive right by. People now days are so scared of being sued. I'd rick that to help one in need. Will try my best to help them even if it's in case where i will be injured...gonna get help if I can't get to them!
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