LIVE UNITED Y’All!

It takes a village to raise a child.  This old adage holds a wealth of truth.  None of us can stand alone.  We are all dependent on each other and the responsibility to ensure that our children live happy, healthy lives belongs to all of us.  It is our responsibility to make sure this next generation succeeds.

In these trying economic times, community isn’t always what it is supposed to be. We’d all like to think we live in a place where people care about others, where people pitch in to help when things get rough and where it’s safe to leave the doors unlocked and let the kids play outside.  This is what our parents wanted for us and what we want for our children, but is it really what we have?  We can make the change for our future and for our children.

Living in a good neighborhood has nothing to do with the price you paid for your home or the amount of your monthly rent.  Living in a good neighborhood depends on the support system that exists within the neighborhood.  We need to look at the way we treat each other and the children who surround us.  We need to take the responsibility of truly being a good neighbor and looking out for one another.  Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. That person is not always a parent or family member.  Sometimes it is a friend or neighbor.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, there was plenty of poverty and misery.  People had lots of reasons to feel sorry for themselves, but people connected with each other during that time. They had family and friends around them.  People helped each other out, not only with physical needs like food, clothing and shelter, but also with spiritual and emotional needs.  They looked out for each other and they banded together to make it through.

We are in a rough patch again.  While no where near the magnitude of the Great Depression, still we all seem to be affected by this latest downturn in the economy.  With the housing and financial crises and ever increasing unemployment, it is easy to feel sorry for ourselves.  What we need to be doing is looking outward, reaching out a helping hand to our neighbors and ensuring our children live happy, healthy lives in a good neighborhood.  Life is a lot easier when you are part of a network of friends and family, a community, a neighborhood.

It takes a village to work with the family, to raise our children and weather the trying times.  If we want that kind of support, the place to begin is with ourselves, in our own neighborhoods.  Community, like charity, begins at home.  You start building a good neighborhood when you decide that you will be a good neighbor.  If you don’t know anyone on your block, you can always introduce yourself.  Host a gathering in your back yard.  Wave to your neighbors and stop to say hi at the curb.

There are many things that we don’t have much control over. But building a good neighborhood is something that you can do, right now, in the place where you live now.  You can reach out and touch your neighbor and find a new sense of purpose and life on your street. Make your neighborhood your village and ensure that our children will thrive.  Understand the truth that America was founded on, united we stand, divided we fall.  LIVE UNITED.

What do you think we need to do?  What are you doing in your neighborhood?

Photo credit: Samuel_Leo

General Children, Community, Live United, making a difference, Neighborhoods