Shadow Mountain Neighbors: February 2011

Our Brief History

On Sunday, June 27th, around 50 people, children, young and old (and pets) came together to:

1. Get to know each other
2. Become better neighbors

How did this start?

My wife and I moved into the neighborhood March 2008. The next day, our neighbor Donna brought us some brownies, that made us feel so welcomed.

But then, the following week, someone called the city on us because our grass was a bit long. Suddenly, we didn't feel very welcomed.

One night around 2am we heard fire trucks on our block. A fire had started just a few houses down and one person died. It was a difficult experience for all of us. Our family made a sign that said "Our Thoughts and prayers are with you - W. 70th neighbors" That made us realize how during difficult times, neighbors have to come together and support one another.

So we asked, what if we make an effort to begin to get to know our neighbors so that we too can welcome others with brownies but when there are issues, instead of calling the city, we can just talk as neighbors about dogs, fences, noise.

And what if we go beyond that to actually have fun together, support each other when someone's in need, enjoy each other, serve others together.

So my wife and I started by having an open house Thanksgiving, 10-12 people, neighbors came.

Then for Halloween we had story time on our driveway, 5-6 children stopped by.

Then we had a Super Bowl party, again about 20 people came. Then on Easter we had a bounce house on our front yard and a few came bye.

Then, my neighbor Gary came over one day and said, "hey David, what if we plan the next one together at the park" and so we passed out flyers, knocked on doors, talked to people 1-1 and 50 people showed up!

Statistics say that most people want to get to know their neighbors, but don't know how, have had bad experiences or perhaps don't see the point. But from all I've read, most people at some point feel pretty isolated and alone in their homes and neighborhoods.

We want to make our neighborhood a friendly place once again!

So what's next?
Our next step is to make connections among neighbors.

One of the things Peter Lovenheim says in his book "In the Neighborhood" (link above) is that one of the goals of neighborhood events is to connect people to each other.

1. Become part of our Neighbors Team - pass out flyers, brainstorm, organize next events

2. Help with publicity (design flyers, social media, twitter, facebook, evites, add to blog) for next event at the end of the summer.

3. Send us your business link so we can add it to our neighbor's site

Let us know if you have any other ideas on how we become better neighbors this summer...

davidTrigueros
dtrigueros@gmail.com
14235 W. 70th Dr.
303-859-8822