Increasingly people use FPF to tackle some of the tougher challenges faced by their communities… street crime, school and town budgets, disaster recovery… and currently in Burlington, illegal drug use…

Hello Neighbors – Over the last few months, everyone in our household and that of our downstairs neighbors’ (and landlord’s) had noticed certain vehicles consistently parking on the quiet side street next to our house, and just sitting there for a long time. Of course, this sort of thing makes you wary, but we had not seen or experienced anything overtly suspicious or criminal… until yesterday, when I found two used needles and bloodied alcohol swabs discarded curbside, right next to our house…

Last night, after dark, a cherry red car with a loud muffler pulled up to the same spot and sat. Our downstairs neighbor noticed this, and after a few minutes walked out to have a look/be a presence. The car quickly pulled away, turned around and took off toward North Ave. Sure enough, another pair of used needles and dirty swabs were found on the street. We called the cops, and an officer was sent over to have a look; we described the vehicle to him, and he collected one of the syringes. His idea is that people are buying on North St and then pulling back into our relatively quiet, not-much-patrolled neighborhood to shoot up.

Needless to say, this is disturbing and disheartening, and we’re hoping to help bring a stop to it ASAP. Be aware of stopped vehicles lingering at the curbside in your neighborhood, and be very careful to watch out for discarded needles, especially for the sake of children in your area (“luckily”, the needles that we have found have bright orange plastic components and are easy to spot; also, the idiot users have been thoughtful enough to cap them before dumping). Obviously, direct confrontation is not encouraged, but notice patterns and take down license plates of repeat visitors. And, of course, be very careful and wear gloves when cleaning up after these losers (the cops will come to pick them up if you’re not comfortable doing it, but they do not want them as evidence unless they are still loaded).

Be careful out there, and teach your kids the same!

According to a 2010 Pew Internet and American Life Project report, of nearly 2,300 surveyed, half ages 50-64 did not know their neighbors; the number was 52% for ages 65+.

So when I heard about free neighborhood websites, I stopped multitasking. They are a place where neighbors communicate online with others who live nearby about community issues (a new building project in the area, traffic concerns, a burglary, a favorite gardener, a family in need), post requests, and get to know one another. That often leads to face-to-face connections and new relationships.

According to Michael Wood-Lewis, cofounder of the Front Porch Forum, a neighborhood website in Burlington, Vt., there are about 20 similar start-ups around the country. Created in 2006, his is among the oldest and serves one-third of Vermont.

One of most recent entrants is the San Francisco-based Nextdoor, which debuted last October and is in more than 1,200 neighborhoods nationwide. In order to join one of these private social networks, you have to live in that neighborhood (except if you’re an adult child/caregiver) and when posting, use your full name. If there’s no neighborhood website, you can start one and invite neighbors to join.

What does this have to do with caregiving? These companies are seeing adult children, who are caregivers, or their parents or relatives, the care recipients, using it to enlist the help of others. Last winter, during a blizzard, an adult daughter living across town got on the Front Porch Forum website and asked her mother’s neighbors to check on her. Several went over to make sure she was okay and fed, while someone else shoveled her driveway and walk…

#VT - Saturday night between 5:00 and 8:00, I lost my phone and internet connections. During that time at approximately 7:00 p.m. my two large male German Shepherds started barking from inside. My 3 year old flew out the door & off my porch barking ferociously & atypically. The next morning a Telecom worker came to fix my service and said that the telephone box had been unscrewed, left open and the wires had been dismantled. He added: “This doesn’t just happen. It had to have been deliberate.”. He and the State Policeman said that this is what intruders do to disconnect any alarm system whether you have one or not. Warning: If your phones suddenly stop working, check your outside box for suspicious activity. I was home and that did not seem to matter. The Police said that the good news is… my dogs were home too. Extra treats and back rubs for them!

This was just posted now by a Charlotte Front Porch Forum member.

We’re seeing lots of break-in news shared among neighbors on FPF, so be sure to lock up and take reasonable precautions.  Also, connecting with neighbors is helpful.  I know I rest easier when my neighbors and I are all keeping an eye out for each other.

I have been doing some genealogy research lately and came across this:

“March 19, 1887 Yonkers Statesman: Thomas Mitchell of Webster Avenue who has been suffering for two weeks past with rheumatism and throat affection is able to be out again.”

Looks like back in the day the newspaper actually watched our for the community. I think Front Porch Forum is filling that nitch today (I know the Free Press certainly isn’t). If you are holed up and need a little help at some point, I hope you’ll let your neighbors know. We’ll bring soup.

See you at the rink!

I wanted to post a huge thank you to the female driver who stopped in front of our home on Jan, 21st around 430 pm  and helped my father up our drive to the door.

You are a special person who ever you are and I am Thankful you drove by : This could have been a 911 situation. Again, My Thanks!!!  If you read this please email me, I would like to thank you in person.

And a huge thank you to the poster, Julia, as well, for sharing this tale… an inspiration for many others, I’m sure.

While walking the dog at 5 AM this morning, my faithful canine alerted me to some green paper bunched on the sidewalk.  Money.  Lots of money.  Clearly bar money as it was in mostly small denominations and bunched into a wad.  Not enough to shift the fate of nations, but enough to put a smile on my face, a song in my heart, and to thank my precious pooch for its discovery.

Later the same morning, in a classic “should have kept my mouth shut” moment, I mentioned the aforementioned booty and its finally tally.  The moral compass of our family reminded me of the difference in the value of this size stash to us in our financial state and that of its most likely loser, i.e., a staggering undergraduate returning from a night of debauchery on the town.  Clearly to correct thing to do would be to offer said debaucher the opportunity to reclaim the lost stash.

With this in mind I offer the following challenge.  Anyone who can correctly identify the street that the cash was found on, its approximate value, an approximation of the denominations of the bills, and the maiden name of my paternal grandmother and her country of origin can claim the money.  Please reply by email at your earliest convenience.

Update.  The above mentioned moral compass has informed me that the “paternal grandmother” part of the challenge was unfair and should be retracted.

This is further evidence of the “neighbor connect” online space heating up.  In the past year, I’m aware of at least two dozen significant start-ups focused on facilitating conversation among people who live near each other.  Some, like Localocracy, aim at niches (local ballot issues and related), while others intend to promote a general sense of community.

Huffington Post/AOL joins MSNBC.com, which acquired EveryBlock.com last year, in this space, as well as many other new VC-backed and boot-strapped entrants. Most start-ups in this area appear to be strong on tech and weak on traction.  That is, they can crank out the code, but few people actually show up and use their product.  To make matters worse, many attempt to open up everywhere all at once.  As a friend said… “a mile wide and an inch deep.”

Front Porch Forum is an established leader in this space, with amazing traction in our state.  More than half of our primary city participates.  In another FPF town, 75% of members post… much higher than the 1-10% seen on many social sites.  And the member success stories flow through FPF faster than we can write them down.  People use FPF to reduce crime, find jobs, give away baby gear, reunite with lost pets, recommend roofers, debate ballot measures, call city hall on the carpet, and much more.

With our new web application recently launched, we look forward to bringing Front Porch Forum to communities far and wide.

http://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members

Every year, members like you help fuel FPF so that we can continue to help neighbors connect and build community.  More than 30,000 local households have joined and shared hundreds of thousands of postings with their neighbors through FPF!

Whether it’s flood recovery efforts, group yard sales, car break-ins, sharing perennials, election debates, block parties, town notices, or other topics, our small band of committed staff work day and night to keep this all going.

If you enjoy and value Front Porch Forum, please become a supporting member today at:

http://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members

Your contribution is critical to keeping FPF going strong — and will be enormously appreciated. We look forward to serving you and your neighbors in the coming year.

Your FPF team,
Michael, Nina, Linda, Jamie, Lynn, Gisele, Jeff, Regina, Suzie, and Jan

P.S.  We also accept checks, payable to…
Front Porch Forum
PO Box 64781
Burlington, VT 05406-4781
802-540-0069

FPF is not a charity and contributions are not tax deductible.  Ad sales to local businesses cover part of our expenses, and your supporting-member contributions help close the gap.

And the response from Vermonters is just as extraordinary.  Witness these sample Front Porch Forum postings…

We’ve lost half a house but we’ve gained a community.  I’ve never experienced being carried through a devastating event by large numbers of friends, neighbors, and complete strangers before.  Thank you Moretown and out-of-town volunteers for your heart-breaking generosity.

And from Cambridge FPF…

In 36 hours you donated about 3 tons of food and supplies as well as $3,000 in support of Hurricane Irene flooding victims. The goods were sorted and repacked by an enthusiastic group and loaded into a dump truck and covered trailer. At 6:00 AM Saturday Jack and Adam will head out for a distribution center in Bennington, probably detouring through New York State to avoid road closings.

And we’re seeing hundreds more Irene-related postings on FPF in dozens of towns… from those seeking help, as well as those ready to give.  Vermont is an incredible place.

Floodwaters have receded, but most rivers and streams remain above normal levels, and some are still dangerous in many areas. Vermont officials recommend staying away from rivers that are still high and flowing rapidly. You should stay out of all floodwaters because of pollutants or debris.

Motorists are still encouraged to stay off roadways as many are unsafe and what roads are open are needed by emergency responders, road crews, and utility crews.

Road closures are still too numerous to list. Please call 511 or visit www.511vt.com for updated road closures. The public is asked to NOT call 211 for road closures – those calls are hampering 211’s ability to help those who need shelter or other resources.

State Police also ask that you only call 911 if you have an emergency.

Before returning to your flooded home, you must have a licensed electrician inspect your electrical system. Wet wiring can cause electrocution.