An article in Parade magazine last year captivated Charlene Willard, a community specialist in our Neighborhood Services Division. The article, “Meet the Neighbors,” explored the ways neighbors who once barely knew each other are forming supportive friendships.
“In an age of discount air travel, cheap long distance, and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, why is it that we often don’t know the people who live next door?” the author, Peter Lovenheim, asked.
The article clicked with Charlene. After all, a big part of her job is to help neighborhoods form organizations and plan activities that bring people together.
“What hit me about the article is that somebody actually realized how our spread-out suburbia is causing us to drift away from the old-fashioned neighborliness that used to be a mainstay in America,” she says.
Charlene was intrigued enough to pick up a book written by Lovenheim called In the Neighborhood: The Search for Community on An American Street, One Sleepover at a Time.
The book is about Lovenheim’s experiences as he got to know his neighbors in suburban Rochester, NY, by asking to spend the night in their homes. The idea of a grown man knocking on doors and asking for a sleepover grabbed attention for the author; he not only appeared in Parade, but he also wrote an op-ed column for the New York Times and was featured in USA Today. Julia Roberts’ production company has acquired screen rights to the book.
Lovenheim writes that he wasn’t content to simply meet his neighbors. He went a step further by introducing them to each other in hopes of creating a greater sense of community.
“By not knowing our neighbors, we lose a crucial safety net,” Lovenheim says. “We also lose social and economic benefits: the ability, in a pinch, to borrow a cup of sugar or a dash of vanilla instead of making yet another trip to the supermarket, and the simple pleasure of daily, unplanned contact with people with whom we have become friends.”
Charlene figured that Lovenheim’s insight would mean something to residents of Raleigh, so she invited him to visit our city. It took a bit of effort to coordinate schedules, but she finally arranged for Lovenheim to speak on Tuesday, April 26, at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 99 N. Salisbury St.
The evening will start with a reception at 6:30, followed by Lovenheim’s discussion at 7 and a book-signing at 8. Space is limited, so please contact Debbie Puckett at (919) 996-6100 or [email protected] to make a reservation. The event is free of charge.
I share Lovenheim’s view that a neighborhood is healthier when the people who live there know and care for each other. During his visit on the 26th, we’ll be talking about ways you can turn your street into a neighborhood that matters. It promises to be an interesting evening, and I hope you will be there.