We no longer have the days of the neighborhood children gathering together in the street to play as often as we used to. Whether you can blame that on the media, or an interest in children, one thing is for certain – that sense of community that makes that close neighborhood feel so close knit is lost. It also creates concerns for neighborhood safety – if parents don’t feel confident about the children going out to play, perhaps your neighborhood needs a little bit of safety upkeep? 

This could mean anything from having a neighborhood watch put together or putting up regulatory signs to slow down oncoming vehicles and letting them know that children play that. It’s not just about feeling safe, however. You want to save money and hassle of burglaries and other issues that are quite unsavory and bring down the value of your home. Below, we’ve put together some simple ways to make your neighborhood safe so that you can work on these with your neighbors and all bring back the children playing once again.

• Reach out. If you want to make sure that your neighborhood feels safer, make friends with your neighbors and reach out to them. Offer yourself as a resource in an emergency, and this could be reciprocated when you do. Make sure that everybody feels comfortable in sharing their needs, and if you have small children or elderly neighbors, pets or regular deliveries, you can be an asset to each other and create the community that is missing. You could even plan street parties and get-togethers on public holidays!
• Discuss the neighborhood safety efforts. Is there a neighborhood watch in place already? If that isn’t one, you could start one for yourself. A phone tree could help when things have gone amiss or there is an emergency, and the local community page can help you all to come together and get to know each other so that you could look out for one another just as good neighbors do.
• Keep your yard looking good. Do you want to all make sure that you are pitching together to keep your street looking great? If you understand that this can help to deter crime, you will all be more likely to keep your street looking wonderful. Crime prevention measures can become pretty pricey, so make sure that you’re doing all you can as a community rather than just think it be on your own and you’ll make sure that your neighborhood looks and feels safer.
• Exercise caution. Make sure that you speak to your neighbors when you’re going out of town – trusted neighbors – so that you can all look out for one another when you know the others are on holiday. When you have trusted people looking after your home for you, you will feel safer and more at ease at the idea. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your neighbors, you could need them when you are next in a pinch.