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larknm
8-8-14, 6:57pm
I don't do any specific plan, but here are some things I've done on our mostly low-income street. Got a dog removed who was being used for fighting and had turned from happy to miserable and had the skin torn off the whole top of her head. Got access to a puppy who was penned and starving and formed a (his first) relationship with him, took him to a grassy place many times so he walked on grass for the first time, enabled him when he had chances to learn to play--in city water sprinklers, making a toy out of a dead snake--his first toy--and TTouching him (I am a Tellington Method practitioner). Bought a penned-up, starving adolescent dog, took him to a sanctuary I'd researched that found him a great home in Sacramento, CA. Occasionally have given small amounts of money (up to $20--only once that high, otherwise bus fare) and food to hungry neighbors. Also clothes and rides to the hospital or shelter. Take catfood every few days to a woman with abut 8 stray cats and kittens, and am planning with her to have them taken to a good shelter. Whenever I'm decluttering something, I lay it out on the curb for neighbors to take.

razz
8-8-14, 7:27pm
My current neighbourhood is pretty quiet so little needs to be done beyond stopping to chat as I walk my dog twice a day. I do babysit another's dog as needed, trade magazines and books with others, share produce from garden and plants and that is about it.

Lainey
8-8-14, 8:23pm
My immediate neighborhood is pretty middle-class, so I help out in that I support small purchases like girl scout cookies or school fundraisers.
We've seen a slight uptick in the number of people who panhandle on the freeways or entryways to the more upscale shopping areas nearby. I save extra change from my purse and roll it, so I usually have a roll of dimes or nickels to hand out if I feel moved by the person, or in some cases, an entire family who is standing there.

I also put out stuff for big trash pick up that some find usable and haul away before the trash truck gets here - things like a small metal file cabinet or similar. They are welcome to it.

If I go to an event with vendors, like in a stadium or street fair or parade, I usually buy something from them too because I know those folks are really struggling and every dollar counts.

awakenedsoul
8-8-14, 9:00pm
larkm, Great thread! I live on a low income street, too. I've done some of the same things that you have. I rehabbed a run down, eyesore of a cottage that had been vacant for two years, and was surrounded by weeds. I turned it into a feminine, pretty, antique filled jewel. I put in cottage landscaping, painted it, and fixed up the inside, as well. I clean up and put out things I no longer need at the curb. (old furniture, water heater, appliances, etc...) Everything has been picked up by someone in need within one night. I share seeds, plants, and homegrown vegetables and fruits with neighbors. I gave a boy at the bus stop some cash when he didn't have the money to fix his flat tire on his bicycle. I have taken in animals that were neglected or needed a home: two chickens, a pot bellied pig, and three dogs over the years.

On the darker side, I have turned in neighbors who were smuggling large groups of people over the border in the middle of the night, and taken a clan of people to court who would throw unbelievably loud parties, litter, get drunk, and harass those who were quiet, considerate, homeowners.

I've planted twenty trees, and have designed a garden that attracts wildlife, bees, butterflies, birds, and ladybugs. I've made meals for an elderly woman who lives up the street when she was overworked with caretaking her mom and husband. I raked up her leaves, picked her lemons for her, (she has a huge tree,) and cleaned her chicken coop. I've also taken care of horses and goats for people when they were out of town.

I have caught a couple of teenagers in the act when keying cars or trespassing on someone's property. I called the police and the owners thanked me.

I may have started a couple of trends: bicycling instead of driving, and putting in a potager garden instead of a front lawn.

razz
8-9-14, 8:42am
Had to check out a potager garden as I had heard of them but never explored what is meant by the term. They are lovely! Great idea!

awakenedsoul
8-9-14, 11:08am
Had to check out a potager garden as I had heard of them but never explored what is meant by the term. They are lovely! Great idea!

Thanks razz. I think so, too. They're really good with this drought. It changes the whole feel of the neighborhood. Sometimes people will slow down as they drive by me on my bike and ask, "Are you going to plant pumpkins this year?" Everyone seems to love the look of Cinderella pumpkins. I didn't plant them this year. They need too much water...

SteveinMN
8-11-14, 7:59pm
Maybe it's just living in the Frozen North, but it almost seems we're more interactive with neighbors in winter than in summer. There are cars to push out of snowbanks and walks to shovel/snowblow when people are gone or can't do the work themselves. It seems to be a neighborhood thing (at least among adjacent neighbors) that whoever gets out their snowblower first takes care of their property and then does a pass at a neighbor's sidewalk. Heck, it's just a little more walking and a little more gasoline.

But we do things in other seasons, too. My next-door neighbor's wife passed away this past spring; several neighbors (including us) came by to keep her company as she declined, some (us again) made meals for the family, others ferried people around when vehicles needed repairs, and others kept their driveway and front walk clear. That same neighbor has been plying us with cucumbers and, soon, tomatoes. Another neighbor of ours offered his van when we needed to get our disabled family member to the ER fairly quickly.

I've lived in a bunch of places around the Twin Cities; this one is by far more of a neighborhood. I love it here.

KayLR
8-12-14, 1:13pm
We're new to our neighborhood. Two things have happened which haven't happened in prior neighborhoods.

1-We attended a neighborhood potluck picnic and made actual connections. It was sponsored by the Neighborhood Assn., which is part of the City's structure. I've been writing articles (for free) for the neighborhood newsletter--the editor was delighted when I offered. So far I've written about bees, water conservation (lawns) and about food safety related to summer picnics/potlucks.

2-Our neighbors have connected with us. They are Romanian immigrants who fled Ceaucescu 20+ yrs. ago, and they run an adult family foster care home. They are the warmest, friendliest neighbors I've ever had. He has honeybees and gives us honey. He cannot grow tomatoes, but we can and share. You cannot just drop by the front door and hand them tomatoes or cucumbers; they'll insist you come in for a short visit in their comfortable homey living room. She often brings us these little sweet cakes she bakes which look like they're from a fancy bakery. They are hysterical, too.

One site you might want to check out if you haven't already is nextdoor.com. You can join for free and interact with your neighbors concerning safety, crime watching, garage sales, local reviews, whatever. It's been a nice way to connect.

ToomuchStuff
8-12-14, 4:49pm
Should be a clickable link above. Although I find it sad, that to connect with ones neighbors, your more likely to find them online, then know them in person. Had a discussion with a friend of mine a couple years ago, who is 58 and generally grew up in my area. Neighbors used to have clotheslines, and no a/c and kids would go out to play. You could hear everything from fights, to know who was with someone else.

SteveinMN
8-12-14, 6:28pm
Neighbors used to have clotheslines, and no a/c and kids would go out to play. You could hear everything from fights, to know who was with someone else.
Around here if you want to meet the neighbors, you walk your dog. You will meet all kinds of people.

KayLR
8-12-14, 6:31pm
Ok...this should make it easier...
http://nextdoor.com >8)

Actually, some of the people I've met through this site do not live very close to me, but they do live in my neighborhood, so I likely would not have met them otherwise. My experience has been different neighborhood to neighborhood. Some are friendlier than others. Luckily, my current one seems to be very friendly.

chrissieq
9-6-14, 7:28pm
Around here if you want to meet the neighbors, you walk your dog. You will meet all kinds of people.

Got a dog 3 months ago and can't believe how friendly people are when they see my super cute dog!

He is a great companion to me, gets me out walking several times every day, and has added a dimension to my neighborhood experience.

My sister just sent me a card that said "Anyone who thinks diamonds are a girl's best friend, never owned a dog"!

Packy
9-23-14, 2:13pm
My recommendation is to get a large guard dog breed, that intimidates people. Then, they will mind their own business and leave you alone.

awakenedsoul
9-23-14, 3:21pm
My neighbor just had a baby boy. I asked her if she would like something hand knit for him, and she was thrilled. I just finished a merino wool sweater for him. She picked the color, green. I'm going to make him a pair of booties, too. She has a daughter who is around eight. I'm going to teach her how to crochet and knit. She's really cute. I always stop and talk with her when I'm exercising my dogs on the Walkydog.

profnot
2-15-15, 12:35pm
I've taught free classes at the library down the street.

I live next to a little cafe. They open before dawn and there's no street lamps here. So I turn on my big front light at 6:30am when the workers arrive and turn it off after full light. Most of their customers park in front of my building and I don't want them walking in the dark and possibly falling.

I did a huge clear out last year because I am moving to a new town soon. I put lots of things on tables on the front porch with a "free" sign. Someone new to town got most of my furniture. A friend helped with packing his van with my things and taking them to his favorite charity.

I discovered last summer I'm allergic to grains. No more baking. I gave the KitchenAid, baking pans, etc to the lovely gal who runs the cafe next door.

I was extremely ill last fall and lots of neighbors helped me and the dog. There are some VERY generous people here.

iris lilies
2-15-15, 3:37pm
This thread is some months old.

I've written, over the years, so much about our neighborhood and the work everyone does in it that, no doubt everyone is bored by it, including me.

But suffice to say that we have strong neighborhood association (NOT an HOA--no HOA here!) in an urban core. It is active in improving and beautifying the neighborhood. Our house tours raise around $80,000 annually and that plus grants and membership dues makes for $100,000 operating expenses. From that, volunteers band together for work in safety & crime patrol, gardening and park beautification, public relations and promotions, etc.

DH has served multiple times as treasurer, we've both been on the board of directors multiple times, have chaired a house tour, we work in the community garden, I've ridden crime patron, DH is a handyman who goes around fixing things. Our last big effort was to organize the first booth for the Park Conservancy during our annual neighborhood Antiques on the Park sale. We made around $5,000 if I remember correctly. We gathered donations of nice things from neighbors, stored them in our house and garage, sorted and tagged them with prices, etc., then hauled them and set them up at the booth. We sold most everything because I wanted them GONE and we priced them accordingly.

Packy
2-15-15, 7:03pm
Well, irislilies, I, for one am dee-lighted to hear the accounts of paint cans being left in the alley, bulletts richocheting around da hood and so forth. Tee-Veez & Merc-o-reez bein' rip' offed. Riots n' Robberys over at the 11-11. It is also remarkable how a former denizen of ho-hum has been treasurer of the Neighborhood Home Owners' Association(NHOA). People from that area seem to have an uncanny knack for that kind of thing.

ctg492
2-16-15, 5:20am
Does it matter that threads are old? My old memory not as good and I re read to see if I responded.

catherine
2-16-15, 8:41am
Around here if you want to meet the neighbors, you walk your dog. You will meet all kinds of people.

Same here. In NJ, people stay in their houses a lot. But walking the dog gets you exposed to at least other dog-owners, although I only know them by "Casey's Dad" and "Schotzie's Mom"

I live adjacent to a park/school/baseball field and I have dreams of a block party. When DH turned 60, I dropped "open house" invitations in several neighbor's mailboxes and they actually showed up! So I think people would like to be asked and would appreciate the chance to get together.

NOTE I don't mind recycled posts--I do appreciate it if I have the heads up, though, before I write a response to one I've already responded to.

sweetana3
2-16-15, 8:49am
Our next door neighbor started a women's group by inviting neighbor women for a "gin and tonic" get together. We really got to know one another. Now we need to expand the group. Mostly a summer group as we meet outside on the patios. Even with dogs, the neighborhood is pretty full of workers who seem to work long hours and are seldom out and about.

JaneV2.0
2-16-15, 11:20am
My recommendation is to get a large guard dog breed, that intimidates people. Then, they will mind their own business and leave you alone.

Explaining my lifelong love of Dobermans...:D

SteveinMN
2-16-15, 4:18pm
Does it matter that threads are old? My old memory not as good and I re read to see if I responded.
The site forum software can tell you that:

http://i62.tinypic.com/w06y9s.jpg

When there's a green circle with an arrow in it, you've responded to that topic at least once.

Boldface indicates a topic with posts you haven't read; the blue dot with triangles in it can be clicked to bring you to the first message you haven't yet seen; and the gray envelopes indicate topics with nothing new since your last visit.

mamalatte
2-16-15, 8:06pm
We have been going through a tough time for about two years and I have been the recipient from friendly neighbors of some dropped-off meals, a free lawn mow (and I have a BIG lawn), some snow shoveling, a place to stay for 4 days right before Christmas when there were safety concerns about staying at home, help evaluating some problems with my 100+ year old house, and also just generally some offers of "Call me if you ever need anything." Very nice. Although, I feel odd receiving help as opposed to giving help.

I have not so much been in a position lately to help out others as much as I usually like to, but I still put out a "FREE" box now and then, mostly with outgrown kids' clothes, that always get snapped up. I contribute to the local charity that helps neighbors in our small community who can't afford heat in the winter. At one point before my own drama really hit the fan, we actually took in a local boy who was in transition into foster care, for about two weeks. Many homes here are second homes and I have several times called the police to report alarms (seemingly fire or burglar) going off in unoccupied houses. I really feel good when I can do something to help a neighbor.

Gardenarian
2-17-15, 3:03pm
Thanks you Steve!
I can't believe I never noticed that before!

I'm in a new neighborhood - I like the sound of the gin and tonic parties! (though I don't really drink...)