By

Aline Cole Barrett and Linda Laird

    
Everyone wants to live in a safe, friendly neighborhood. By being a good neighbor and building relationships with those who live close by, you can contribute to making your neighborhood a wonderful place to live.  Here are some easy ways to become the kind of neighbor you would like to have.

1. Smile and give a friendly hello to people you encounter in your neighborhood.  It is a quick and easy way to start building relationships – and it feels good when you get a smile back.
2. Take a walk in the neighborhood and observe what is happening around you.  Pick up garbage, report things that need repair, and get a better understanding of who lives in your neighborhood.  Say hello to parents with new babies and older neighbors who may have been ill or are disabled.
3. Have a block party and invite all of the neighbors.  You may make some new friends and get to know better those you have already met.  Getting to know someone at a social event makes it easier to deal with difficult issues at a later date.
4. If you are having a party, include your neighbors, or at least warn them about possible noise, late night guests, and extra cars in the parking lot.
5. Keep the noise down.  If you have been out late, lower your voices and walk softly when you share a stairway, hallway, or driveway.  Don’t start loud chores early in the morning.  Some people may work late hours and need those early hours to sleep.
6. Be a good pet owner.  Vaccinate your pets and curb excessive barking.  Keep your dog on a leash when outside your home and use doggie bags to pick up waste. 
7. Keep your public area clean and attractive.  Remove litter, sweep away dirt and cobwebs, and put out a nice welcome mat. 
8. Don’t walk around constantly talking on the phone.  Speak to your neighbors and their children.  Make them part of your life.
9. If you or your children break something that belongs to a neighbor, repair or replace it.
10. Respect your neighbors and their cultural backgrounds.  Neighborhoods include people from many different backgrounds.  Learn from them and enjoy them.
11. Keep neighborhood gossip to yourself. 
12. Avoid judgment.  No one really knows what is going on in someone’s life.  Give them the benefit of the doubt.  Ask them if there is anything you can do to help them.
13. Show gratitude when someone shows you kindness.  Show appreciation with a note or by returning the favor.
14. Participate in neighborhood clean up or beautification efforts.
15. If a problem develops with a neighbor, ask him or her over for coffee or a soda and talk about it in a friendly, but direct manner.  Misunderstandings occur. Accidents will happen. Keep the door open for resolving the issue before anger escalates.

If you are unable to resolve a dispute with a friendly discussion, mediation with neutral mediators may help you to reach a solution that also preserves valued community and personal relationships.  Mediation can help resolve a dispute before relationships are compromised.  A friendly neighborhood provides a safer environment for your family and will add value to your home - something everyone desires.

Aline Cole Barrett and Linda Laird  

Kansas Mediation Concepts 

785-273-7889 or 785-806-4735    

[email protected]