I’ve talked with hundreds of people in casual conversation about Front Porch Forum over the past many months. One of the most common comments goes a little something like this…
“I’m chagrined to admit it, but out of our entire neighborhood I only know the couple next door… and I’ve lived here for TEN years!”
It’s fascinating to watch the 130 neighborhood forums that we’re hosting across metro-Burlington… urban vs. suburban vs. rural; renter vs. owner-occupied; low vs. middle vs. high income, etc. We’re seeing successful adoption of the service across many of these different types of communities. It seems fairly universal that people want to connect with the people who live around them and attach to the neighborhood grapevine.
Kevin Harris posted the following in his blog today from the UK:
A friend was telling me today about a conversation with a neighbour, who she reckoned has lived in her street for well over ten years. The question she was asked was something like ‘have you seen so-and-so over the road? I haven’t seen her for a while.’ The lady in question had died some three years previously, unbeknown to the questioner.
For my friend, who grew up in a rural area, a bit of adjustment was necessary, because this couldn’t have happened in her village. But she lives now in a northern English city. I’m not surprised and probably most people who think about neighbourliness in contemporary society wouldn’t be surprised, which suggests that this sort of disconnection between neighbours is far from exceptional.
I don’t know how the United States and England compare along these lines, but it seems to me that this kind of thing happens in all sorts of settings in this country these days, at least here in Vermont, where many rural residents are urban/suburban transplants, not multi-generational farmers.
Josh and Zoe live around the corner from us with their two tots. I saw their original posting in our neighborhood forum asking for help moving from their rental across the street to their new home. We had planned to stop by to help schlep a few boxes, but one thing led to another and we didn’t make it. I wonder how many other people wanted to pitch in like us, but didn’t for some reason. And, as my better half, Valerie, said, what a great sense of community that allows people to feel okay about asking for this kind of help. Amen.
From: Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum, Issue No. 1,282
Front Porch Forum
Moving Miracle
By Josh Brown, December 05, 2006Just over a week ago, we moved [across Catherine Street]. And what was it like? It was like a swarm of giant leaf-cutter ants suddenly descended on our apartment and carried everything away; It was like Hogwarts had put their best people on the job; it was like the gods of suction applied a vacuum to our stacked boxes and furniture and they shot out, miraculously, into all the right places at the other end; it like was one of those stop-action films where an entire day’s weather passes in a moment. It was downright fun.
OK, we exaggerate.
But we do say thank you, thank you, thank you, to the wonderful crowd of friends and neighbors who came out to help last Sunday. It was humbling and heartwarming to have 36 people show up, on the weekend after Thanksgiving, in response to our request for help here on the Five Sister forum and move all our things down the street in an hour and a half. When Jess Lily arrived a bit before noon, I thought, “great, at least there’ll be some else to help with the heavy stuff.” Then a few more people showed up and so it seemed good to station myself at the top of the stairs to try to tell them what things to pick up.
But I soon realized that, like a good wedding, it was only a little bit about us – and it was more about community and collective wisdom. Instead of needing directions, people seemed to know better than we did where things should go. Within a few moments, the best I could do was to stand back and try not to get in the way or gape, as a stream of people came up and down the stairs, buzzed across the street with a load and returned, smiling.
Of course, there were a few spots that we just hadn’t gotten to cleaning and organizing before the moving day, like the messy back porch and jumbled garage. A little embarrassed, Zoe and I tried to say, “Oh, don’t worry about that mess, we’ll get it later.”
Ha. The group knew better – and within a few minutes someone had packed up all the milk bottles and crud on the back porch and Dave N. had backed his pick-up into the garage, where a crowd loaded it up and delivered it within 10 minutes.
When a socket wrench was needed, it appeared; when the picnic table seemed like it would be a pain to get down the stairs, a team lowered it off the second-story porch by rope; our bed was not just moved, it was fixed; Rosalie’s finicky crib was dismantled then expertly reassembled; all the picture hangers in the old place were taken out and put in a bag; carpets vacuumed; the buckets of potting soil were subdued; a crew set up the beds in just the right spots at the new house so we’d have a place to sleep. And these are just a few examples of the rain of goodwill that fell on us that day.
Thanks, all.
Most people, I posit, are looking for this kind of thing. We’re seeing more and more stories like Josh and Zoe’s flow through Front Porch Forum… although it seems the majority just happen and don’t get discussed… so it’s hard to quantify the good will.
P.S. Glad to see that the Burlington Free Press also covered this good news in its holiday blog.
I realize that Halloween was a few weeks ago, but severed-hand stories keep dropping in my lap. So… it all started with a message on the South Union Neighborhood Forum from Sue Burton and Jan Schultz:
“The morning after Halloween we found a green hand on our porch (pretty scary)! Maybe it’s a “special gift” (Sue has a broken wrist)… If it’s yours, give us a call.”
Three different neighbors, each missing a hand, came around to inspect the green foundling… and no matches were made! Jan and Sue followed up with:
“THE FICKLE HAND OF FATE: There’s more to the Green Hand Saga. Our most recent potential taker realized that our mysterious green hand is not his Green hand after all. As for the two callers yesterday, one found her own missing green hand on her back porch, and the other glumly realized that our new-found treasure wasn’t her lost hand. (Her’s is a glow-in-the-dark monstrous glove; ours does a little dance if you try to pick it up). So. But it’s O.K. I have to admit I’ve become very attached to this green hand. (This is Sue speaking, of the broken wrist.)”
Well, that’s four. What’s going on here? And then yesterday… number 5. Richard Donnelly told me of his missing gorilla hand… last seen in Halloween’s moonlight around Caroline Street. So, I just posted an APB on the Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum. Banana reward offered by Richard.
Who would have known the ways that Front Porch Forum would be used when we launched it a few months ago? In this giving season, please help these missing hands reunite with their rightful owners. Thank you.
Trade associations form when a group of businesses in the same field feel a need to work together to (1) get a better shake from government and/or (2) get group discounts from the vendors that serve them. Professional societies serve the same purpose for individuals. Last I recall, the United States has an incredible number of these organizations. That’s how you get things done… find a group with common interests to yours, then work together to lobby government and twist the arms of your common business partners (yes, they also provide training, issue credentials, market the industry, etc.).
I’ve been in and around such entities for much of my career in Washington, DC (trade associations central) and more recently in Vermont (where I ran a 30-employee association of utilities).
Now in launching Front Porch Forum, I’ll be darned if I don’t find myself on familiar ground. This past week, a neighborhood forum in Williston bustled with talk of neighbors banding together to muscle a bulk discount from a trash hauler. Previously, a forum in Shelburne discussed a group discount on home heating oil. Neighbors in Burlington have connected through their forum to split cords of firewood. Another group of neighbors jointly purchased a power leaf mulcher. Plenty of potential to save a buck using your forum to organize a group of neighbors to get some leverage. I wonder what’ll be next?
Using neighborhood forums to political ends… that’s even more common. Burlington forums debate the Southern Connector highway project. Williston forums heat up over the proposed landfill. Our neighborhood’s phone service used to cut out during every hard rain… for years… decades. Our forum got folks mobilized and making calls (when the sun shined!). Now we have new poles and lines and great service. We have a similar story about our old nearly impassable sidewalks… replaced now with concrete the envy of every trike rider in town.
Need to mobilize your neighborhood? Try Front Porch Forum.
Longtime Front Porch Forum member Bob Wolf remarks that the forum in his area “acts as a neighborhood watch.” In the past week, I’ve seen messages across greater Burlington about two house buglaries, a car break-in, a missing bike, and a handful of graffiti and noise complaints. Previously, neighbors posted about a registered sexual predator who appeared to be violating the terms of his release, a child abduction (thankfully broken up before the perp. got away with the nine-year-old girl victim), and an armed home invasion.
The primary benefit appears to be neighbor helping neighbor, and everyone keeping an eye out for each other. However, Front Porch Forum also encourages and welcomes the participation of local law enforcement. The Burlington Police have been on board our flagship neighborhood forum for years. Lately South Burlington and Williston police have joined our forums in their communities.
In fact, it was a quote from Lt. Kathleen Stubbing that contributed to our decison to take our initial single neighborhood forum and launch Front Porch Forum to share the success with other areas:
“I think the forum is terrific. It is also very helpful when it comes to crime prevention. I wish all the neighborhoods in Burlington had this communication venue.” [Now they do!]
So, when a neighbor wakes up to a broken car window, she may think to tell her neighbors through her Front Porch Forum. Nearby residents are duly alerted and may be able to provide an eye-witness account. And, the police may decide to contact the victim directly and/or send a note to the neighborhood via the forum.
Other episodes are more direct. In the first week of a new neighborhood forum, a member posted a question: “Does anyone know who it is that drives through the neighborhood squealing his tires and locking up his brakes every weeknight at exactly 11:35?” The police called and asked if he minded if they camped out in front of his house at 11:30 that very night. Well… by 11:40 PM, problem solved.
Closing its third full month of operations in metro-Burlington, Front Porch Forum counts about 2,500 households as members. That’s 5% of the county; 12% in Burlington. A couple neighborhoods have more than 80% of homes participating, about 15 are at 20-40%. Folks report joining because a friend or neighbor told them about FPF.
And member comments tilt strongly positive. We get lots of unsolicited notes like the following from today:
How could I possibly resist joining my neighborhood’s forum? I know a good idea when I see one! I am looking forward to learning more about what’s happening around here with people, places, and things. -Elise Eaton, Burlington
And…
I must say, this forum has been absolutely wonderful for me and my family!! Canning jars, baby clothes, great community interaction!! Congrats to you! -Heather Armata, Westford
Thanks to our members for joining and participating, and especially for spreading the word to others. More neighbors taking part makes each forum more useful for everyone.
Anyone who organizes public gatherings knows how hard it can be to attract a good showing of local folks (unless major controversy erupts). Some thinkers reason that people just don’t care these days or they’re too busy.
I’m beginning to wonder if it’s more a case of the message being drowned out by the din of competing media… too much information swarming around us. Posting an announcement on the city’s website and in the local newspaper does not mean people will notice and act.
So it’s compelling that reports are piling up of people using Front Porch Forum to gather crowds for events. No single example impresses, but taken together…
1. Newly (re)elected State Representatives for South Burlington held a meeting this week to solicit input from their consituents. One incumbent reported “the majority of folks who got there did so through Front Porch Forum notification as contrasted to the notice in the [local daily newspaper].”
2. Burlington’s several Neighborhood Planning Assemblies meet monthly and provide an important community link to city government and are involved in many valuable projects. Recently, a city staffer who has attended countless such meetings reported the largest turnout ever. While the agenda contained a couple of hot issues, the sense was that a fraction of the crowd would have shown up if not for the new set of neighborhood forums covering that part of town.
3. My neighborhood is blessed with a great park. A concerned neighbor reported tonight that the Parks and Rec department may significantly change a portion of the park, and he posted the date and time for the public input meeting (first I’ve heard of it). I’m guessing this will be the next example of a big turnout generated through a Front Porch Forum posting.
Lots of other examples of neighbors pulling neighbors into local government goings on. In a way, this is using the internet to increase citizen participation in public policy and to hold officials accountable. That’s similar to the Sunlight Foundation‘s mission. I met with it’s National Director, Zephyr Teachout, today (still digesting the spread of ideas she laid out!). The Sunlight folks focus on citizens using the internet to press for transparency and accountability in the U.S. Congress. Amen!
Ultimately though, Front Porch Forum is about helping neighbors connect and foster community. Other benefits, like engaging your city councilor about property taxes, are an important bonus.
Watching neighbors connect through Front Porch Forum is often both fascinating and moving. This post from today, e.g., adds to other evidence we’ve witnessed of people wanting and waiting for a chance to lend a helping hand to those around them.
My husband died from metastatic prostate cancer in October. I asked for help finding someone to snowblow my driveway [through her FPF neighborhood forum] and think I have found someone. Then I went away for a week and when I returned my leaves were raked and removed and items moved from around the house to the driveway. I don’t know who did this, but I have to think it was someone in the neighborhood and I wanted to say thank you.
This message comes from a suburban-style neighborhood where about a quarter of the 200 households signed up with Front Porch Forum in the first three months of operation. To further thank her neighbors, the writer goes on to share a warning:
You should also know that in July 2006 we had a house invasion during the daytime (2:30 pm, man with a ski-mask) and my husband’s pain medication was stolen ([he] was lying in bed at the time). While I was away in November, there was another break in. His remaining medications were taken too. There is no more medication in the house and it is now very much more secure, but be aware that this sort of thing happens even in our own “safe” neighborhood.
Many thanks to the kind-hearted and energetic people who helped me out.
The anwser to the request for snow-removal help for the coming winter is great. The mysterious leaf-rakers are even better. But it’s the willingness of the writer to share her loss, ask for help, and offer a constructive warning to her neighbors out of what must have been an awful experience that motivates us to make Front Porch Forum happen for more people and neighborhoods.
Anecdotes are piling up of increased neighborliness in areas with vibrant Front Porch Forums. People seem more willing to see those living around them as neighbors worth getting to know vs. strangers who happen to live a few doors away once an FPF neighborhood forum breaks the ice. Some such stories are collected on our testimonials and media pages.
It’s wonderful to watch low-level online exchanges build up over time and feed positive face-to-face interaction. FPF postings come from nearby neighbors and each is automatically signed with the sender’s full name, street and email address. After dozens of messages about babysitters, car break-ins, furniture for sale, free baby strollers, roofer recommendations, public policy opinions and more, people begin to get to know their actual neighbors’ virtual personalities, interests, opinions, etc. When they do meet face-to-face, the foundation has been laid for a neighborly exchange.
Kevin Harris reports on three new publications that “contribute significantly to the arguments around neighbourliness, informality, and informal social control.” From the introduction of Respect in the Neighbourhood:
The challenge is to replenish society’s depleted stock of skills in engaging and recognising the legitimate interests of others… to hone our readiness to show consideration to others, whether we know them or not. It’s not that we don’t do this: it’s just that we tend to avoid doing it with those with whom we have little in common. It’s as if – conditioned to the taciturnity of the supermarket checkout rather than the inevitable greetings of the corner shop – we have abandoned the practice of conducting trivial interactions, because they don’t matter to us. But they do matter, and we need somehow to rediscover the vernacular of mundane encounters.
I don’t have the references here in front of me, but I recall studies that found that people who live in areas with a strong sense of community are healthier than those who don’t. I don’t doubt it. Community is a huge compenent of quality of life. Good community can lower stress; bad experiences with the neighbors can increase stress. It’s hard enough to feel daunted by the people at work, or to experience a little road rage… but feeling unsupported or under attack in your home, your supposed safe haven, day in and day out… that’s tough.
We’re seeing more and more beautiful stories of neighbors helping neighbors through our experience operating Front Porch Forum. First-time parents without nearby family? Word goes out and meals, hand-me-down baby clothes, a changing table and stroller show up. A life-long resident in her 80s struggles to stay in her home… neighbors pitch in cutting grass, raking leaves, shoveling snow.
One of the most moving stories was captured by Cathy Resmer at Seven Days:
Arthur Goyette knows the value of good neighbors. His wife Betty died three years ago, but while she was battling cancer, his neighbors brought countless meals to their Caroline Street home. When the neighbors learned that Betty had always wanted to ride in a convertible, they found a dealership willing to loan them a car, and surprised the Goyettes with a Chrysler Sebring. When the couple drove down the street with the top down, people lined the block waving and taking pictures.
Remembering this time, the 71-year-old Goyette marvels that he barely knew some of the people who helped him. He might never have known them at all if it weren’t for an email newsletter called the Front Porch Forum, which serves the South End neighborhood known as the Five Sisters.
Goyette’s neighbors used the newsletter to organize support for the family. “If the web wasn’t there,” he says, “it never would have happened.” (Read the full article.)
One motivator for starting Front Porch Forum was selfish… Valerie and I know that strong community is and will be crucial for our son’s continued well being. Ben is seven and has severe cerebral palsy. We, Ben and the entire family, need broad support from those around us to provide him with the basics of a good life. He has both incredible potential and severe challenges.
Which brings me to today’s movie… truly amazing. Ben and I get out for walks, we love to swim in the lake, and he’s always enjoyed squeezing into our bike trailer behind me… but we’ll never be in this league. Go see the video (or watch it below) and read the story.
[youtube]f4B-r8KJhlE[/youtube]
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