Front Steps -- Winter 1997

Front Steps

A newsletter for neighborhoods and the people who live in them -- Winter 1997
Front Steps is made possible in part by a grant from SAFECO Corporation.

Porch Chat

When you look back over last year, think about people who live nearby who did something special for you or the community. Maybe it was returning a wandering pet. Maybe it was organizing an Ice Cream Social. Maybe it was a cheerful good morning on a rainy day, or watching your children when something unexpected called you away.

Every block of every city depends on countless random acts of neighborliness throughout the year. Most times we respond with a smile and a couple of words of thanks.

These darker, shorter days, though, are a good time to say a special thank you to someone who made some day brighter for you. There's a "certificate" you can use for the purpose in this issue of Front Steps. Or you could make your own as a holiday project.

Our goal in preparing each issue of Front Steps is to pass along ideas and information that can help make neighborhoods stronger, healthier, more attractive places to live. You can help by sending your comments and suggestions for next year's issues.

More later,

Putnam Barber, President
President, The Evergreen State Society

Front Steps -- Volume 1, Number 3, Winter 1997
Marie Sauter, Managing Editor
Kathryn True, Writer
Terri Nakamura, Designer

©1997 The Evergreen State Society www.tess.org
1122 East Pike Street, #444
Seattle, WA 98122-3934 USA
Email: frontsteps@tess.org

The Evergreen State Society works to encourage healthy communities by furthering nonprofits and informal organizations. It was founded in 1990 in Seattle.

This online version of Front Steps lacks the graphics and other features of printed copies. Free printed copies of Front Steps are available by post; please send a complete postal address to the email address above.

Multiple copies of Front Steps are available at no charge to individuals and groups who will distribute them on a non-partisan, non-sectarian basis to low- and moderate-income urban householders. Contact The Evergreen State Society for more information about becoming a distributor.

Strengthening Community Ties Can Lead to Happier Holidays

Holidays are a time when we focus our attention on sharing good feelings with family, neighbors and friends. This is probably why we have a heightened awareness and increased concerns about crimes that could take those good feelings away. Luckily, strong neighborhoods offer better protection to the people who live in them, and the season provides a good reason to reach out to your neighbors. Here are a few seasonal ways to strengthen the bonds of cooperation that can protect you and help keep your block from becoming a target for crime.

Offer to help your next-door neighbors this season by watching their homes if they plan to be away. After the holidays, you and your neighbors may want to talk to others on your block about ways to help each other make your street more safe. If you do not already have an organized Block Watch program, contact your police department for advice about where to begin.

Get together with friends on your block for an outdoor "tree trimming" party. Spend an afternoon cutting back bushes and trimming low branches that could be good hiding places for prowlers. A group of people will make the job go faster and turn a chore into a fun gathering.

Mark gifts right after you purchase them and before they're wrapped. Use a driver's license number or other useful ID in an inconspicuous location. If you own an engraver, offer to loan it to neighbors -- or just to engrave things for them. Some police departments and neighborhood service offices also have these tools available on loan.

If you have new electronic equipment or other appliances, it is a good idea not to leave the boxes out for pick-up or recycling. Unfortunately, the printing on the boxes sends too clear a message to anyone who may be on the lookout for items to pawn. You could offer your garage as a cardboard collection point for your block and then make one trip to a recycling center for everyone. And always mark new items with ID numbers right away.

For most families, the stresses and strains of the holiday season will include only the familiar last-minute rush to get everything ready in time. With a little forethought, and some cooperation among neighbors, people can reduce the threats of other more damaging kinds in significant ways.

Random Acts of Neighborliness

If you see a package sitting on your neighbor's front porch, take it home for safe keeping and leave a note to let them know where to find it.
Don't let advertising flyers pile up on porches or walkways. They can announce which houses on your block are temporarily vacant
If there is a surprise snow storm, take a moment to walk a path from the street to a vacationing neighbor's door.
Be a "secret sharer" and hang a candy cane or other simple day-brightener over your neighbor's doorknob.

On the Ready: Disaster Planning for Neighborhoods

At 5:04 p.m. on October 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay area. In the midst of the initial confusion, 160 neighborhood groups were able to spring into action. They were following disaster response plans prepared with the help of an organization called Strengthening Preparedness Among Neighbors (SPAN).

History records that after major disasters, police, fire and other emergency support is often not available to many people during the first 72 hours.

"We had a tremendous response in these communities," said Dr. LuAn Johnson, SPAN director. "When bad things happen -- like a major earthquake or hurricane -- people are happy to be supportive of each other, but in the absence of being organized you have chaos...everyone running to do the same thing at once. We help people get organized prior to such an event."

SPAN helps groups by showing them how to take advantage of what they already know and what they already have on hand. The goal is to organize into six disaster response teams:
    1) Communications
Takes advantage of amateur radio operators to establish links between the neighborhood and the city emergency operations center.
    2) Damage Assessment
Assesses and reports damage, assists with damage documentation.
    3) First Aid
Establishes a neighborhood first aid station and provides basic first aid.
    4) Safety and Security
Checks for fires, turns off natural gas, ropes off downed electrical lines and removes debris.
    5) Light Search and Rescue
Performs simple searches of homes and rescues or gets help for neighbors who may be trapped.
    6) Sheltering and Special Needs
Establishes a care center for children whose parents may not be home and for anyone who may need extra care, including seniors and people with special needs.

The timing of San Francisco's 1989 earthquake gave the Sheltering and Special Needs teams an especially important job. Many parents were on their way home from work when the quake occurred, so team members helped ease the stress for lots of neighbor children. In their planning meetings, the team had identified the kids who were home alone after school. They went to the children's homes and accompanied them to the planned emergency meeting place until their parents could get there.

"Bridges were out and in some cases parents were stuck far from home for up to 36 hours, and although they were worried about their kids, it was very comforting for them to know that their neighborhood was organized and that someone was there watching out for them," Dr. Johnson said.

Most SPAN groups work in tandem with an existing neighborhood safety program like a crime watch group or home association (usually 25-50 homes). This way the team can build on an already existing network. If you're interested in doing more to prepare your neighborhood for a possible disaster, check with your city to find out what kind of community programs
they already have in place.

For more information on SPAN write Dr. LuAn Johnson at SPAN Disasters 23632 Hwy. 99 #F322 Edmonds, WA 98026 Or call: (425) 672-8919 span9119@mail.idt.net

Expanding Your Neighborhood Map: Utility Shut-Off Valves

A simple neighborhood map can really prove its worth in a bad storm or other disaster. You can put a rough sketch of the houses on your block on your refrigerator door or near a phone. Use it to keep track of adults' and children's names, day and evening phone numbers, pet information and emergency contacts. One way to make your map more useful for an emergency
is to mark where gas and water lines can be turned off for your next-door neighbor's house. With the map in hand, you and your neighbors can tour the area together to find where the valves are located. Ask a representative from a utility company to join you and to demonstrate safe procedures for turning off utilities so you will be ready if you ever need to do it in an
emergency.

(The Summer1997 issue of Front Steps earlier this year had more ideas about how to make a neighborhood map. Copies of back issues are available on request as long as supplies last; just send your request with your address to The Evergreen State Society at FrontSteps@tess.org .)

Getting Resourceful

Creating a good disaster plan is a good excuse to get together this winter -- gather with a small group of neighbors over hot cider and talk about being prepared for anything that might happen. You could use these ideas as a starting point for your conversation. This is also good information to add to a neighborhood map and include in family disaster preparedness kits:

Make a list of neighbors who have communication devices such as ham or CB radios, cellular phones and solar-powered radios.
List people who are trained in first aid, and anyone who is a nurse, doctor, paramedic or Red Cross volunteer.
Know the locations of Red Cross offices and designated disaster shelters.
Consider getting training as a group in CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and other first-aid measures. The training sessions can offer a fringe-benefit too as they bring neighbors together in these months when the days are shorter and we have fewer chances to visit with each other informally out of doors.

Fall back

Fire Departments remind us to check and replace smoke alarm batteries when we turn our clocks back at the end of Daylight Savings Time. If you were too busy "falling back" then, it is not too late to do it now - a small contribution to peace of mind for the holiday season.

Meet the Elected

In strong communities, people know their elected officials. After the election flurry and in the relative calm of a new year is a good time to meet the people behind the names you pondered in the voting booth.

It does not have to be a formal event. You can do something as simple as inviting a few neighbors for a cup of coffee. Add a city councilperson to talk about issues specific to your neighborhood, or a state representative who can let you know about the coming year in the legislature. Politicians welcome opportunities to meet constituents, and your neighbors will like this informal chance to share their opinions and ideas with someone who can do something about them. It sometimes helps to give people a chance to write questions on cards that can be given to the guest. You may want to suggest a topic or a problem-solving theme, so the official doesn't feel bombarded from too many sides at once.

(Finding phone numbers for newly elected officials may be a bit of a challenge. Try the number listed for city hall in the phone book and ask the receptionist for advice. If there is a League of Women Voters office in your city, they might be able to tell you what you need to know. With Internet access, you can look at a list of all LWV local affiliates on the website at http://www.lwv.org/ )

Use this certificate -- or make your own -- to say a seasonal thank you to someone who has made your neighborhood especially nice to live in over the past year:

Please make your own certificate with pen and
ink.

Let us know who you appreciate in your community. Send us a note about who you sent your certificate of appreciation to and why. We'll reprint some of your responses in an upcoming issue of Front Steps. Our email address is FrontSteps@tess.org .

Giving the Gift of You

The holidays are a time of giving, but also a time that many of us feel overwhelmed by it all. If you'd like to give some time to a charitable organization, but just don't know how to fit it in, you might find it easier to keep it simple and close to home. Get together with a friend and talk about your neighbors' needs. What about helping an older person by raking the lawn or hoveling snow, or spending some time with young kids so older members of the household can cook, decorate or shop on their own. You could invite someone who doesn't get out much to accompany you to a holiday play or show. Or perhaps you have a neighbor who would be happy to be included in a family gathering?

Here are some other ideas that you might be able to fit in with other holiday preparations:

Bake two pies and give one to the food bank.
Make a simple certificate of appreciation for someone on your block who did something special during the year. (You can use the blank certificate included in this newsletter, or make your own.)
Help a senior copy and address a holiday letter to loved ones; take them to the Post Office with your own cards and parcels.
Offer to run errands or deal with packages for a neighbor who could use a hand.
Collect travel-sized containers of soap, shampoo and toothpaste, and donate them to a homeless program.

Then after the holidays are over, you can call a community service organization to learn about new ways to get involved in the wider community. After the holiday rush is a time when new volunteer energies are often especially welcome.

Giving the gift of you can also mean making gifts of experiences instead of things. Baby-sitting, gardening, lawn-mowing or car-washing coupons are much appreciated. These kinds of gifts also work to bring you closer to the recipient, so the gift can provide an opportunity for strengthening the friendship as well.

Go back to the Fall 1997 issue (v.1, n.2). Go ahead to the Spring 1998 issue (v.1, n.4).

The Evergreen State Society and community-based organizations across the country cooperate in producing and distributing Front Steps. This work is supported in part by SAFECO Corporation (www.safeco.com).

Permission is hereby granted to quote without alteration and with credit to The Evergreen State Society as the source.