The Good Neighbor List

For many years, I have made a list and distributed it to my neighbors for them to hang by their telephones and share with their families. After I have obtained the approval of each person I contacted, I have prepared a list that includes the names of people on our street, along with their home addresses and phone numbers, occupations, and office phone numbers.

A few years ago while we were living in Ohio, the list came in handy when we had a tornado in our area. One neighbor was up at 5:00 A.M. getting ready for work and heard the alerts on the radio. Using my list, he quickly called neighbors on our block to tell us to go to our basements. This man could not have warned us without the list; it would have taken too long to look everyone up in the phone book.

Having a neighborhood list encourages us to get acquainted with the people who live around us. When handled with discretion and goodwill, making a neighborhood list can help us feel more unity and be more willing to help each other.—Martha A. Smith Jenkins, Tucson, Arizona