| As the neighbor kids head back to school this fall, greet them on their way to and from school or as they wait for the bus. Look for opportunities to support or attend school and youth group events. Do what you can...even just a smile and "hello" make a friendly difference. |
Please help build Front Steps further. Let leaders in more neighborhoods know they can receive free copies for their communities. Pass along the reply card included in this issue...or use it yourself. We will happily add new distributors for more neighborhoods and the people who live in them. (NOTE: Publication of future issues has been delayed. Please send email to frontsteps@tess.org if you would like to be put on a list to be notified when publication resumes. April 1999.)
We are grateful to SAFECO Corporation for supporting this project since the start. We are grateful as well for the reader feedback about important issues for people who live in America's neighborhoods. Your ideas and suggestions are always welcome.
More later,
Putnam Barber, President
The Evergreen State Society
Front Steps -- Volume 2, Number 2, Autumn 1998
Marie Sauter, Managing Editor
Kathryn True, Writer
Terri Nakamura, Designer
©1998 The Evergreen State Society www.tess.org
1122 East Pike Street, #444
Seattle, WA 98122-3934 USA
Email: frontsteps@tess.org
ISSN: 1098-1810
The Evergreen State Society fosters civic initiative and voluntary organizations to strengthen community. Board of Directors: Mason J. Blacher, Eugene Edgar, Les Eldridge, Robert J. Fleming, Michael Gilbert, Sandy Gill, Bob Howard, Mary Joyce, Philip Klein, Dianne Kuhn, Robert Ness, James Pridgeon, Pat Shanahan, Barry Smith, Sunny Speidel (Chair), Donald Woodhouse, Marion Woyvodich
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.
At back-to-school time your neighborhood is likely to come alive with kids: riding their bikes, waiting at bus stops, shopping in stores at breaks, walking home from school. It's a good time to make new connections with the young people in your neighborhood. It's also a time when stresses can arise as adults and kids have more chances to rub each other the wrong way.
One way to build a foundation for good relations is to get to know people of all ages who live nearby. Nancy Ashley of It's About Time for Kids has these ideas for things grownups can do, at the start of the school year or any time, to reach out to kids.
If you're faced with problems with kids where you live, look for positive ways to work them out. Patterns are harder to change after they have become habits. So don't wait. Ask at the school for the name of someone who can help you find solutions. Involve kids you already know in your search for answers. Being open to creative solutions is the best way to start finding them.
Working creatively with kids on today's problems can have life-long impact. A recent study by the Search Institute in Minneapolis identified 40 "developmental assets" that kids need to succeed. The more assets a young person has, the more likely he or she is to succeed in all areas of life. These kids avoid school problems, substance abuse, violence and poor decisions. The important assets include caring neighborhoods, feeling valued by the community, adult role models and good family communications. Clearly, kids benefit from positive connections with adults. So do adults; they report finding unexpected treasures when they spend time with kids.
8511 15th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115 http://www.ci.seattle.ci.wa/timeforkids 700 South 3rd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1138 (612)376-8955 (800)888-7828 http://www.search-institute.org/ |
Fire Prevention Week, starting October 4, is a great time to join with your family and neighbors to develop strong household fire safety plans. Taking on this project with a group provides a chance for you to get to know each other better, share ideas and find ways to cooperate for greater safety. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) or your local fire department can provide some helpful materials to get you started. Here are some ideas from the NFPA:
Gather a small group of three or more families and invite the fire department to give a fire safety presentation. It's smart to start with the neighbors on either side of your home. They would be the most impacted by a fire next door. And they are your nearest source of help.
If people on your block are already used to working together and ready to take on another challenge, you might want to join with some neighbors for a combination fire drill and barbecue. Spend some time doing fire drills. Compare notes over a barbecue or potluck meal together.
Families can add to the challenge by imagining fire emergencies and describing them on cards. For example, one card could list exits blocked by the fire and require using alternative escape routes. Another could say the lights aren't working and some escape routes are filling with smoke. Shuffle the cards and let each family draw one before doing their own drill. Helping each other learn to deal with the unexpected is one important way neighbors can help each other prepare their families to do everything possible to survive a fire.
For more information, visit the National Fire Protection Association's website at http://www.nfpa.org/, write 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269-9101, or call (617) 770-3000.
Fire experts nationwide encourage people to change their smoke alarm batteries at least once a year. An easy way to remember to change your batteries is when you turn you clock back in the fall. Replace old batteries with fresh, high-quality alkaline batteries to keep your smoke alarm going all year long. You can help keep your neighborhood safe from fire by offering a hand with this task to elderly or immobile people as well.
You may have read about neighborhood maps in a previous issue of Front Steps. This important tool is a simple sketch of your block, which includes neighbors' and their kids' names, day and evening phone numbers and other information, such as the names and telephone numbers of children's schools to be used in case of an emergency.
If you'd like to start a map, but don't know how to approach your neighbors about it, Halloween evening provides a great way to get started. Draw an outline of your block with a square for each house or building. Fill in your family's names and numbers, then gather information at each house on your street. Start early in the evening. As your child collects treats, you can gather names and numbers. If you don't have a child, you could go door to door offering a treat to neighbors, making your map as you go.
Explain to neighbors that you will make copies and distribute them the following week. If trick-or-treating isn't your bag, then choose another fall evening and visit your neighbors with the map idea. Most people will be happy to have this important resource. (If you would like more information about neighborhood maps, call our toll-free resource line at 1-888-259-8020.)
Surrounded by boxes of her belongings and exhausted at the end of a long day of moving, Ellen Wallach was surprised to find a bottle of wine chilling in the refrigerator at her new home. And that was just the beginning. The former occupant had left information that helped Ellen gain an immediate sense of belonging to her new neighborhood. Here's a list of things you might leave when you're moving or pass along to a packing friend:
In last Winter's Front Steps, there was a certificate for recognizing a neighbor who made your community an especially great place to live. Three of the people given these certificates are described here.
Another certificate will appear later this year. Think about how you might use it. This is a great way to thank block watch volunteers, pot-luck organizers, youth leaders, ministers, neighborhood service organization staff, your babysitter, or the gardener whose flowers brighten the street....
"I sent my certificate of appreciation to Ms. Margo W., a very strong supporter and community outreach person of Jerico Road. This organization services the homeless, the elderly and children of the west-end area of Atlanta." Ethel E. B.
"Mary C. helps to do many things. We could never give enough thanks for all her time and many talents that she has shared with the Five Oaks Neighborhood Community." Pat M., Dayton
"Our note of appreciation went to Mrs. Rena B. for being a good, loving and caring mother and neighbor. Whenever there were school activities, sports or parent conferences, she was there to help in the community. She did special clean-up activities, gardening, cooking and canning or preserving of foods." Joyce A. and Pamela B., Saint Louis
The Evergreen State Society and community-based organizations across the country cooperate to bring Front Steps to you and your family four times a year. This newsletter's goal is to pass along ideas about things you and your neighbors can do to make your neighborhoods safer, healthier and more attaractive places to live. This work is supported in part by SAFECO Corporation (www.safeco.com).
Front Steps is written and published by The Evergreen State Society, Seattle, WA USA ©1998
Permission is hereby granted to quote without alteration and with credit
to The Evergreen State Society as the source.