Category Archives: Social Media

Don’t let fear erode sense of community

K.G. contributed the following post to her neighborhood forum (in Burlington’s New North End) today after some recent messages about suspicious characters, peeping Toms, stolen purse, etc.

Ever since Linda posted about the “peeping Tom” in our neighborhood, I’ve been feeling less safe in my home.  Now, today (Wednesday), I find two more postings about strange situations in the area.  While I agree that in this day and age we all have to be vigilant and aware, I also hope that we don’t start feeling like our neighborhood is not safe.

When we moved in last August, part of the reason we felt so immediately at home was the fact that the area felt safe and inviting. People say hello, children and families roam the streets on bikes and scooters.  Daily walkers, joggers, and dog lovers abound.  There is activity without busyness as people in our neighborhood share with each other their daily lives.

This new twist on our happy environment may leave us all feeling a little more exposed, and a little less willing to share of ourselves, our yards, and our homes.  While I want everyone to be watchful and safe, I wish with all my heart that the neighborhood continues to feel as warm and inviting as it has for the past year. It’s too easy to let fear control our lives.

Hear, hear! Rallying the neighbors to protect and foster the sense of community in the face of problems… that’s another great use of Front Porch Forum.  Reminds me of a South End neighborhood’s reaction when a little girl was briefly kidnapped out of her backyard by a drifter… after she was rescued, the call went out over their neighborhood forum to step up community involvement and watching each other’s kids rather than everyone running inside and locking the doors.

Lost Dog Rescued by Neighbors

Deb Olsen wrote to her neighbors in the ONE East Neighborhood Forum the other day… a real sense of urgency…

Attention Neighbors – I am caring for a large Husky Hybrid dog for friends. Kiva dug her way out of my fenced yard today and is missing. She does not know this neighborhood, so I fear cannot find her way back. Her collar holds a tag with adhesive tape over her home phone number and mine written on it.

She followed that up with…

Hi Neighbors. A HAPPY BULLETIN – Thanks to the Front Porch Forum and my Henry Street neighbor, Jenny, LOST DOG, KIVA, IS HOME.

Jenny called me at 9:30 PM tonight to report that she had seen Kiva next door around 4:30 PM. She had phoned the number on Kiva’s dog tag, but the owners are out of town. When she saw the Forum notice on email tonight, she surmised it was the same dog and called me. She said she would go out to see if Kiva was still around. I had little anticipation Kiva would still be there hours later, but joined her outside for a look. Sure enough, Kiva was still there and although she was scared and would not come to us, we followed her down the street and she ran onto my front porch as if nothing had happened.

Another happy ending, thanks to Front Porch Forum and my alert, caring neighbor, Jenny, our neighborhood portrait artist.