Preparing for the unthinkable: What our community learned after 2 October 2025

On 2 October 2025, a violent attack struck at the heart of Jewish communal life in North Manchester. The incident took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest and most reflective day in the Jewish calendar. On this day, many Jewish people fast for 25 hours, refrain from using technology, and spend long hours in synagogue. This created a unique and challenging dynamic when the crisis unfolded. Many of our residents were tired from fasting, physically more vulnerable, and unable to receive updates or contact relatives because they could not use their phones.

In a close-knit Jewish community, almost everyone knows someone who was directly affected. The trauma was both individual and collective. For many residents, the attack also triggered long standing fears linked to antisemitism. Security measures such as CCTV, controlled access and guarded community buildings are already a normal part of daily life. When an incident occurs, these underlying anxieties surge to the surface.

This raises important considerations for the wider housing sector. Every community has specific cultural, religious or social realities that shape how people experience an emergency. In our case, the intersection of faith practices, communication constraints, collective trauma and pre-existing security concerns created a set of challenges that could not be met by a generic emergency plan. Effective crisis response requires knowing your residents deeply and understanding how their lived experience affects their needs in a moment of danger.

What follows are 10 practical actions that emerged from our experience. These are relevant not just to Jewish housing associations, but to any organisation looking to strengthen its emergency preparedness in a way that is person centred, culturally aware and operationally robust.

1. Put residents first with clear, immediate communication.
   In a crisis, silence is not neutral. It is frightening. As soon as we were able, we contacted every resident we could reach with honest updates about what we knew, what we did not yet know, and what would happen next. This mattered. Many residents were still processing shock, and clear communication helped reduce fear and uncertainty.
2. Ensure visible leadership from the board.
   Frontline staff are essential, but in times of crisis residents also look for visible reassurance from leadership. The morning after the attack, our Chair and Vice Chair visited residents with us. Their presence was meaningful. It demonstrated accountability, empathy and involvement at the highest level of the organisation.
3. Map your stakeholders before you ever need them.
   In an emergency, you need seconds, not hours, to make contact with the right partners. We already had relationships with local authority teams, CST, police liaison, safeguarding officers, schools, mental health providers and community organisations. Because these links were established in advance, we could activate a coordinated response immediately.
4. Build relationships with trauma and mental health specialists.
   We were fortunate to already work with Jewish Action for Mental Health, who quickly made trauma support available for residents, staff and community members. Having skilled professionals on standby is vital. It prevents longer term harm and alleviates pressure on staff who may be dealing with their own trauma.
5. Put staff wellbeing at the centre of your response.
   Housing professionals are compassionate and dedicated, but they are not immune to fear, fatigue or emotional strain. Some staff were supporting affected relatives. Others were struggling with their own shock. We created space for check ins, flexibility and emotional support. The principle remains simple. You cannot pour from an empty jug.
6. Plan for loss of office access without compromising data privacy.
   Police cordons, security risks or transport disruption may prevent access to your main office. During the 2025 incident, we had to operate remotely with little warning. Crisis response must never compromise GDPR or data security. Housing associations need secure remote access, multi factor authentication, pre-authorised devices, clear rules for handling sensitive data offsite, and securely stored offline contact lists. Resilience must always include safe digital practice.
7. Expect varied human responses and support them all.
   We initially assumed that our most vulnerable residents would choose to remain indoors. Some did. Others, determined not to be defined by fear, insisted on leaving their homes and continuing with daily routines. Both reactions were valid. Crisis plans must respect autonomy, support different coping styles, and recognise that fear and resilience present differently in different people.
8. Understand that not every crisis involves rehousing, but plan for the possibility.
   Fortunately, this incident did not require us to rehouse residents. However, it reinforced the need to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Every association should know who at the local authority to contact for emergency accommodation, which temporary accommodation providers are available, and how to prioritise vulnerable residents. Plans must also cover medications, essential belongings, support needs and communication methods if people need to be moved quickly.
9. Build trusted two-way communication systems before a crisis.
   A crisis is not the time to introduce new communication channels. Residents must already know how we will contact them and where to find reliable updates. Whether through WhatsApp groups, call trees, newsletters or regular visits, communication systems need to be familiar and consistent long before they are tested in an emergency.
10. Test your plans using real world, emotional scenarios.
    Tabletop exercises often feel controlled and theoretical. Real emergencies are fast, chaotic and deeply emotional. Testing must include realistic variables such as staff absence, misinformation, frightened residents, digital outages, night time events and difficult weather conditions. The question to ask is simple. Could we function if several things went wrong at once? Modern housing providers must be ready for complexity.

Final reflections

What happened in our community was devastating. Yet the response reminded us that housing associations play a unique and critical role. We are often the first place residents turn when the world stops making sense. We cannot prevent every crisis. But we can prepare for them. We can build organisations that communicate clearly, act decisively, centre people at every stage, and recover with compassion and dignity.

If the events of October 2025 taught us anything, it is that preparedness is not about fear. It is about safety. It is about trust. And above all, it is about understanding the people we serve well enough to meet them where they are in their moment of greatest need.