Connections Improve Health and Wealth of Community

 

You may ask, “Why should I even bother getting to know my neighbors?"

Different people have different reasons for being a good neighbor. Our "whys" can be different. Pick the reason that motivates you. But ignoring a serious issue impacting our neighborhoods and communities is just an excuse to say that you don't want to do anything about it, which is not a win for anybody.

 

On Thursday, June 15, I met 60 neighbors at a pop-up meeting in Republic’s Owen Park. The effort was supported by the City of Republic, and some council and staff members were present to engage with attendees. MU Extension provided popcorn and popsicles.

 

Some neighbors brought lawn chairs and visited with others.

 

Some stayed on their feet, chasing their children around the playground.

 

About 15 neighbors put their back into the evening. The Rooting Republic volunteer group planted flowers and shrubs and spread mulch around Owen Park. Kennedy Hollingshad does a fantastic job leading that group, and I hope it continues to grow.

 

Pop-up meetings in Republic are a work in process. This one was in a park and pulled from a larger area, requiring more effort and incentives to get attendees. 

 

Future pop-ups will likely be on neighborhood streets where engagement with the city could help address issues of concern.

 

I hope future pop-up meetings in Republic can also help form Neighborhood Watch groups.

 

My goal for events like this is never to entertain or do social work. The goal is to help people make connections. Connections lead to engagement, volunteerism, and neighbors who address and resolve issues together.

 

Engagement also leads to improved personal health, reduces the epidemic of loneliness, and puts money in your pocket and the community by growing what is called “social capital.”

 

At this pop-up, I met three new couples to the area. Another couple requested a turquoise table in their front yard for building connections. Another couple was asking how they could assist with future events. 

 

Everyone I talked to said they met someone new during the pop-up event and wanted to see future connection events. 

MU Extension is putting resources toward neighboring efforts because research proves the value to communities in overcoming trends toward isolation and loneliness, reducing crime, and improving social capital, the largest single impacting factor on our economy.

According to research, the decline in America of trust in our neighbors costs you $16,000 annually. This decline in trust costs your community even more. But trust is less quantifiable than other forms of capital. Its decline is vaguely felt before it’s plainly seen.

Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote “Democracy in America” in 1835, said the secret to the American experiment was our connectivity in townships, associations, and among neighbors. These were the ways we gathered to work out problems, and it created a type of grassroots democracy instead of what we have now, which is top-down.

The bad news is that this lack of knowing or even wanting to know our neighbors is at the root of the tearing in our social fabric, which reduces our social capital, weakens our economy, and reduces trust in the government to do things we value.

The good news is that you can make a difference by starting in your own neighborhood. Learn more at http://engagedneighbor.com.