“Great news: Lost Golden Retriever has returned home safe and sound!! Thank you to our wonderful friends and neighbors on Front Porch Forum for all of your help and support!!”
• Dana & Susan, Johnson FPF
“Our sweet Chocolate Lab, Ellie, is home again! Very grateful for social media and for our wonderful neighbors in Jericho.”
• Sarah, Stephen, Calvin & Violet, Jericho FPF
“Sending out a thank you to all in the community who responded to my request for a plumber recommendation. We have a wonderful resource here in Front Porch Forum. Thank you, everyone!”
• Kristen, Monkton FPF
“Can anyone provide a closed truck to help move a load of household stuff — furniture and kitchen utensils — donated for distribution to refugees in Burlington area? Start in Marshfield, and end at VT Refugee warehouse in Colchester. In the next couple of weeks. Almost any weekday will do.”
• Jules, Marshfield Plainfield FPF
“Someone has quickly volunteered their truck, together with a driver! Things happen, and fast, with Front Porch Forum.”
• Jules, Marshfield Plainfield FPF, next day
A strong argument for building social networks among neighbors — more important than ever — is made by Daniel P. Aldrich in The Atlantic this week. He opens with…
Standard advice about preparing for disasters focuses on building shelters and stockpiling things like food, water, and batteries. But resilience the ability to recover from shocks, including natural disasters comes from our connections to others, and not from physical infrastructure or disaster kits.
Almost six years ago, Japan faced a paralyzing triple disaster: a massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns that forced 470,000 people to evacuate from more than 80 towns, villages, and cities. My colleagues and I investigated how communities in the hardest-hit areas reacted to these shocks, and found that social networks the horizontal and vertical ties that connect us to others are our most important defense against disasters.
We saw this play out in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene in Vermont. Communities with pre-existing vibrant use of Front Porch Forum rebounded more quickly after the flooding than those without.
“Today at about 4:45 pm my car slid off of Wes White Hill. Within 5 minutes two neighbors had pulled over including a really nice guy with a plow truck. The second neighbor who arrived in a silver SUV, moved his car up front to alert oncoming traffic, and both of them were a huge help. I really appreciate living in Huntington because of how awesome this community is. Thanks so much for the help!”
• Dave, Huntington Front Porch Forum
Sebastian Junger’s recent book, Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, strikes a chord familiar to Front Porch Forum fans. Jennifer Senior writes in her New York Times review of the book…
Modern civilization may be swell, giving us unimaginable autonomy and material bounty. But it has also deprived us of the psychologically invaluable sense of community and interdependence that we hominids enjoyed for millions of years. It is only during moments of great adversity that we come together and enjoy that kind of fellowship which may explain why, paradoxically, we thrive during those moments. (In the six months after Sept. 11, Mr. Junger writes, the murder rate in New York dropped by 40 percent, and the suicide rate by 20 percent.)
War, too, for all of its brutality and ugliness, satisfies some of our deepest evolutionary yearnings for connectedness. Platoons are like tribes. They give soldiers a chance to demonstrate their valor and loyalty, to work cooperatively, to show utter selflessness. Is it any wonder that so many of them say they miss the action when they come home?
As a former anthropology major, Mr. Junger takes a special interest in tribal life. He notes that a striking number of American colonists ran off to join Native American societies, but the reverse was almost never true. He describes the structure and values of hunter-gatherer groups, including the ones that lasted well into the 20th century, like the !Kung in the Kalahari.
FPF’s mission is to help neighbors connect and build community. We work toward that mission by hosting a Vermont-wide network of online neighborhood / town forums where people find lost pets, sell cars, give away couches, seek rides to the airport, ask for plumber recommendations, borrow ladders, find part-time jobs, organize block parties, attract crowds for community meetings and events, debate school budgets, and more. And all of this occurs daily among clearly identified nearby neighbors, building connections. Counter to our national trend toward individual isolation, for an increasing number of Vermonters, their neighbors form a healthy part of their tribe.
“I painted a canvas for my aunt’s birthday and lost it today. It was on the roof of my mother’s car and has my initials on it (KAL 01/17). It is a gift and only the second time I’ve ever painted. If anyone finds it I would be super appreciative!”
Almost a week later, a FPF member posts:
“Found Painting on Ground Near Bike Path – Yours? With initials KAL.”
“The painting has been located! THANK YOU Front Porch Forum! I am so glad we have this community!” – Christine, Montpelier FPF
Lose something of value? Your neighbors are ready to help. Just ask!
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more