A Close Call Averted

In early June of 2023, over 200 Nova Scotian homes burnt to the ground. In one of these home was a couple taking care of the older parent with Alzheimers. The fire was raging toward their house and they struggled to get their uncooperative father out. In desperation, they fled the house while  calling 911.

The emergency measures people arrived fifteen minutes later. They got Alzheimer father out of the house and into their truck just in time to see the house go up in flames.

Luckily, no one was hurt and the young couple did everything they could. But it was close – real close.

What would of this story been like if the neighbourhood had been connected with the Good Neighbour App? Besides calling 911, they put out a notice saying we need help getting Dad out of the house? Would a good neighbour have been there to help and things wouldn’t have been so close to a … Read the rest

A Tale of Two Community Neighbourhoods

In downtown Toronto, on a quiet residential street, the wife of an elderly couple passed away. The street residents did what often happens and brought over casseroles and well wishes soon after they became aware. The gentleman’s house was filled with coming and going of relatives and neighbours. But what made this street special is the residents realized the hardest times are after everybody goes home again.

The street came together and chatted about what they could/should do. They decided to have regular ‘look-ins’ and invites for the new widow. Now some six months later, the widower is rebuilding his social life and adjusting to a new way of living grateful for the support he has received.

On a suburban street in Moncton New Brunswick, my good friend noticed a moving van in front of a house about 8 doors down. My friend, being the curious fellow he is, checked out what was going on. It turns out that the … Read the rest

7 reasons social media isn’t the best to get to know your neighbours

Social media has become a ubiquitous part of our lives, connecting us with friends, family, and even strangers around the world. It’s undeniably a powerful tool for staying in touch and fostering virtual communities. However, when it comes to getting to know your neighbours, is social media really the best way to go about it?

Let’s take a friendly stroll together through the virtual neighborhood as we explore “Reasons Social Media Isn’t a Good Way to Get to Know Your Neighbors.” While social media has its perks, we’ll uncover the potential pitfalls and limitations it presents when trying to build those meaningful connections with neighbours. They can become more than just people who live near us: they can become our friends or even chosen family.

 #1 Lack of privacy and control over who sees your conversation.

One of the major concerns with using social media groups for neighbourhood communication is the potential lack of privacy. Many people are wary … Read the rest

What is the best app for neighbourhood communication?

Apps can be helpful for bringing neighbours together

Have you ever wondered what is the best app for strengthening neighbourhood community? Neighbours can provide us with a sense of community belonging, social connectedness and the security that others nearby care about us. It is also beneficial to our health! Thing is, this is only true if we know our neighbours. Which we know can be hard to do. Even awkward!

Luckily, we have a few specialized options when it comes to communicating with our neighbours via our smart phones. In this article, we will talk about the pros and cons of the best apps for neighbourhood communications. We will cover everything from price, to ease of use, to how respectful they are of your privacy.

Can we have real connections on social media?

Neighbours can provide us with a sense of community belonging, social connectedness and the security that others nearby care about us. This is only true if … Read the rest

When did talking to our neighbours become a social faux pas?

Recently we launched the Good Neighbour App. It is an anti-social-media social app that uses a little bit of technology to get people to talk to each other face-to-face. It’s been a fascinating social experiment.

When we explain that you can’t connect with people online with the Good Neighbour App, they are confused. How can you have a social app that doesn’t connect with people on line. When we show them that you connect with people face-to-face and that the messaging also connects people face-to-face, their instant reaction is “I love it” I love that it gets people talking to each other and it is so simple to use without any unwanted noise of scam, complainers or advertising. They love it and download it.

But then something really interesting happens.

To use the app, they have to talk to someone and share their app on their phone face-to-face. And their reaction is that is awkward. They say “I don’t feel … Read the rest

Would You Rather Be Safe or Starving

Well intended laws aren’t always helpful

Recently, I was asked to speak at the Changemakers conference in Las Angeles. While there I met Daniele Dilberto from South Africa. After exiting from a 30 year career as a successful restaurateur, Daniele wondered how he could complete his life with greater purpose. He built on his food skills to start Ladle of Love. In 5 years, he served 35million meals to the disadvantaged near Johannesburg.

How did he accomplish this amazing feat? 35 million meals in 5 years is huge.

It was simple. He set up a distribution system and then asked the good people of Johannesburg if they would make some sandwiches. And 35 million sandwiches later, there are a lot of people who did not go hungry.

But here in North America, we have laws and regulations that say we would rather have people rummage through garbage dumps. To give a sandwich away in North America, it has to be … Read the rest

Post-pandemic Blues: The Challenge Community Associations Are Having and What They Can Do About It.

Recently I have talked with a number of community associations. This includes housing associations, neighbourhood associations and home owner associations. They told me the biggest challenge they face, especially since the pandemic, is engaging with more community members. Wouldn’t it be great if community associations had a way of creating real engagement with its their citizens?

The Covid Effect

While people in communities have becoming more isolated over the last 10 years, these associations consistently said that Covid greatly accelerated the process. Once isolation became normal, there has been a lasting effect of less community cohesion. People are being slow to reconnect as a community. For example, an Alberta Community Association told me that 10 years ago, people were placing greater emphasis on self and less on common good. Then Covid hit and the focus on self was magnified. Now they are struggling to recapture that sense of common good.

 

The Non-engagement Effect – not just an issue for

… Read the rest

Create Sustainability through Community

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world.” Margaret Mead

Those words have never been more true or more important than today.

The most powerful human force on earth is not big business, nor is it big politicians. It is ordinary people living in ordinary communities that have the real power. Communities of people are the most powerful force on earth.

Facebook is getting a taste of this power as people turn away – Zukerberg’s shares recently fell by 60%.

And the Iranian leadership are getting a taste to the limits of their power as women and men rise up against the morality laws.

And the lawmakers of Michigan experienced the power of community as citizens rose up against the poisoned water they drink – the governments are acting to clean it up in response.

Even Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China have felt the sting of common people coming together in … Read the rest

Do We Really Want Inclusive Communities?

Recently in a conversation with a great friend, I started having new thoughts about what kind of communities do we really want to live in. Is an inclusive community really good enough? Is there a better idea?

As we examine the word inclusive, it implies that there is an includer and an includee. The includee wants to be included and the includer gets to decide whether the potential includee will be included or not. We hear this all the time from people who are considered marginalized. They say “I just want to be treated like everyone else and be accepted for who I am.”

Is this good enough? That us privileged get to sit in judgement and as gate keeper. In another experience that I had with a First Nation woman, she called me a “White Savior” and she didn’t want any white savior saving her. I was extremely hurt by this accusation and did not see myself as a … Read the rest

What is a Whole Community?

Recently I had a conversation with a good friend about his experience of raising a special needs person into adulthood. His son has reached the legal age of adulthood and has the mental state of a normal two year old. His goal is to give his son as normal as possible life experience of community, love and acceptance.

As we continued the conversation, he shared how difficult it is to have fellow community members offer to take his son for a walk. This simple gesture would have so much benefit for his son and for the rest of his family. Taking his son for a walk would provide his son with new experiences of the community world while offering respite and acceptance to my friend and his family. It would relieve the burden of being alone in this incredibly important journey.

Yet, our fellow community members often stay aloof from people like my friend. It isn’t that we don’t have … Read the rest