Start With Neighbors To Build Communities, Researcher Says

John Kretzmann has a unique way of looking at neighborhoods: He lists the things they do right rather than dwelling on their problems.

“I think we are rediscovering the wisdom of our grandparents,” said Kretzmann. “It was common sense for them to turn to their neighbors for help. We’ve moved away from that.”

Kretzmann traveled around the United States for three years, listening to stories in neighborhoods, discovering what makes communities work. He’ll offer that information at a two-day workshop - Oct. 17 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Connie Nelson, a Northeast neighborhood leader, has seen Kretzmann’s ideas work in her community.

“This is so radical, because in the past, we have based everything - our organizations, our funding - on our problems, our deficits,” she said.

“Using this model, we look at a neighborhood’s resources, energy and talent to help strengthen it,” she said.

The Northeast neighborhood is filled with examples: Shaw Middle School opens its gymnasium to the neighborhood for Friday night basketball; the Neighbor-To-Neighbor program in the Bemiss neighborhood united Boy Scouts and other groups to install fire alarms in homes.

“Strong neighborhoods help strengthen families, and vice versa,” said James Pippard, professor of social work at Eastern Washington University and fan of Kretzmann’s philosophy.

“In the past, more problems have meant more money for communities - for programs, to fight crime - so community leaders were used to looking at the negatives of their neighborhoods instead of their assets,” said Pippard.

“Building communities starts one person at a time, by building relationships,” he said. “It doesn’t mean big meetings all the time, but you need to build relationships and build a network.”

It can start with small gatherings in living rooms.

“The best way to do it is one-on-one,” said Pippard. “Communities can easily do it themselves if they learn how. It’s not rocket science.”

Steps might include incorporating schools, churches and other community gathering places into the process and redefining their roles.

For example, asked Pippard, why do senior citizens need their own hot lunch program? What if they ate hot lunch at the school with students. It would also provide contact between two groups that rarely connect.

It’s just an idea. And there will be more at the conference.

“Communities are really hot now,” said Pippard. “People are talking about neighborhoods. It’s a healthy thing.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Workshop Oct. 17-18 “Building Communities from the Inside Out: Mobilizing Your Neighborhood” will be the topic of the seminar. For more details, call Jim Pippard at 359-6480.