Community Building Tip: Traveling

[ysabetwordsmith]

In today's fragmented world, people can improve it by reaching out to each other. Here are some ideas for building community in your neighborhood.

Let your neighbors know when you will be out of town and ask them to contact you or the police if anything is suspicious. You don’t need a formalized neighborhood watch program to keep the neighborhood safe. My next-door neighbor had a break-in stopped by a helpful neighbor who knew she was traveling. If you ask your neighbors, they will likely ask you in turn, which helps to keep the neighborhood safe for everyone.

Comments

[cmcmck]

We always do this as do our immediate neighbours.

It really is a useful thing.

[gingicat]

So, my next-door neighbor has pissed a lot of people off (including me) for playing his music at extreme volume at all hours, and is also being closely watched because he is neglecting his very sweet dog.

Nevertheless, when I got home from work and saw his garage door open, I worried that there might have been a break-in and called the PD to be helpful rather than complaining.

Turned out that the garage door had bounced off the garbage can unnoticed and had been open all day, and no-one had considered that it gave open access to his house. (Turns out that he had a locked interior door, but STILL.)

I won’t call next time now that I know he has a locked interior door, but REALLY? None of the curious neighbors mentioned knowing this. And we’re in a townhouse complex.