We all want to live in great communities where we can be happy, healthy, and safe. Having said that, let us look at four different ways to improve our communities and strengthen the bonds with our neighbors.
Legal Assistance
At some point during their lives, everyone will have to go through a legal process. And as we all know, these matters are most often not free. As such, a great community-building idea would be to establish a legal fund for members to take advantage of in times of need.
For instance, one of your neighbors might be going through a messy divorce and needs the services of a respected divorce mediation attorney. Another example is a community member who has been in a car or work-related accident and could benefit from financial help to go through this process in the smoothest possible way.
The steps to creating this plan are simple. Within the community, members could first decide on either monthly or bi-monthly legal assistance membership fees. Having done this, an individual would then be selected to secure and manage the fund. Finally, a clear set of rules and regulations would be drafted to ensure everyone is familiar with how the fund works and what kind of legal assistance programs it includes.
Educational Programs
The best way for a community to thrive is for all its members to access a proper education. After all, once you have the right tools at your disposal, there is a much higher chance that you can face the different challenges that come along.
There are many types of education. One of them is the education you receive in kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school. There are also university education and vocational programs in specific tasks. Finally, there is “real life” education on processes and the proper handling of certain situations.
Your community can focus on all three. If there are many children, members could volunteer as teachers and, in return, learn real-life skills from other members. For instance, if a member is a doctor, he can teach first-aid or emergency procedures on weekends and holidays.
The key is to create an interdependent system where all members teach others the skills they have and learn those they are lacking.
Safety Through Accountability
No matter how beautiful your neighborhood looks on Google Maps, how big or luxurious your home is, or how convenient your surroundings are, if you and your family are not safe, you might as well move somewhere else.
Of course, the job of keeping people safe is and should be in the hands of law enforcement agencies like the police and qualified private security companies. We don’t live in the DC Comics or Marvel world where superheroes abound, and vigilanteism has become an accepted aspect of society. Nobody should take the law into his own hands.
Still, there are ways in which neighbors can help protect each other and guarantee the safety of the community. One of them is putting in place accountability programs where members do simple things to take care of one another. For example, if a lady is walking alone at night and there is a suspicious individual behind her, a community member could turn on the lights on his front porch as a sign of warning.
The Little Things
Just like a chain is as strong as its weakest link, a community will go as far as its weakest member. If some people put in the effort of making their neighborhoods better, but others don’t, the community will ultimately only be a group of people living in the same place instead of a strong, cohesive group.
When we talk about doing the little things, several examples come to mind. They include:
- Helping the elderly when you see them. Whether it is crossing the street or carrying a bag of groceries, helping older people in the community is everyone’s responsibility.
- Keeping our front porches clean and following recycle policies. Segregating the garbage is not a difficult process. Neither is sweeping your front porch once in a while and picking up fallen leaves and garbage.
- Volunteering to help others. When we help others, we are not only making them feel better. We are also making ourselves happier and more fulfilled.
- Bringing joy to other members. When you see someone in your community, say hello and greet them with a smile. You never know how much they might need it.
These are a few of the little things you can do to strengthen your community and build better relationships with your neighbors.
Four ways to build better communities are establishing legal assistance and educational programs, ensuring safety through accountability, and doing the little things. By doing them, you will build stronger communities based on camaraderie and trust.