Red Cross Shelter in Jefferson County, WV

I received an email last night ask asking me to distribute a press release with information about Jefferson County’s Red Cross emergency shelter.  Rather than post it in each of our many Jefferson County community groups, I decided to try out our new alert system.  If you are a member in Jefferson County and did not receive the alert, received multiple alerts or experienced some other problem, please let us know.

If you or someone you know needs shelter, the new location is the Covenant Baptist Church, 7485 Shepherdstown Pike, Shepherdstown, WV.  It’s located on Flowing Springs Rd right outside of Shepherdstown.  Please note that the Google Maps location for the church is NOT correct.  If you are unable to provide your own transportation, please contact the Jefferson County EOC at (304) 728-6345 or (304) 728-2100 x2979.

With all the snow on the ground and the new snow coming, please take a few minutes to check on your neighbors – especially if they may need some assistance with shoveling snow or may not have adequate supplies.  At times like these, good neighbors can make all the difference.

Here’s the latest release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Debra D. Palmer,
Public Information Officer
Eastern Panhandle Chapter American Red Cross
(304) 725-5015 office
(703) 625-0162 mobile
dpalmer@easternpanhandlearc.org

Jefferson County Red Cross Shelter Location Change

The Eastern Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross, in an effort to protect both our volunteers and clients, will be opening a shelter at the Covenant Baptist Church, 7485 Shepherdstown Pike, Shepherdstown, WV to provide a safe and warm environment for Jefferson County residents who may be suffering from long-term power, food shortage and/or water outages.

If you are in need of temporary shelter, please bring the following items with you: bed linens, clothing, toiletries, and any prescription or non-prescription medications you may require. Please check in at the registration desk in the gymnasium and we will make sure you are directed to safe parking. If you are unable to provide your own transportation, please contact the Jefferson County EOC at (304) 728-6345 or (304) 728-2100 x2979. The dedicated folks operating the EOC will do their best to provide alternative transportation during this snow emergency. At the present time, we are unable to provide shelter for pets due to the road conditions and safety concerns involved in their transportation to the animal shelter.

It is times like this that the Eastern Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross can really use monetary donations from the local communities to sustain such massive operations. You can donate by mail to 1948 Wiltshire Road, Kearneysville, WV or via PayPal on our website: www.easternpanhandlearc.org.

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First Nation of Neighbors Sign Posted

Many thanks to everyone who came out to our first sign posting yesterday!  It was an awesome experience to be able to post our first sign across the street from the location of our first public presentation, some 4 or 5 years ago.  We’ve come a long way since then, and it’s completely due to your help.  Neighbors working together can improve communities.  And improving communication between neighbors will give us all a better chance of success.

I’d like to single out Brian of Black Dog Coffee for a special thank you for providing refreshments.  Not only is Brian a longtime member and supporter of Nation of Neighbors, he also owns and runs a local company, Black dog Coffee, that roasts some of the best coffee I’ve ever had the pleasure to brew.  Anyone who knows me should know that’s quite a statement.  I drink way more coffee than I should – and I’m picky!  Brian offers free local delivery and ships his fresh roasted beans nationwide via priority mail.  If you appreciate good coffee you owe it to yourself to check out http://www.blackdogcoffee.net/.

I’d also like to thank the Journal for covering the event and Corp. Tiong from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for joining us – and everyone who took the time on a beautiful Saturday morning to lend a hand.  Thank you!

Twitter Integration, Anyone?

If we offered Twitter integration, would you use it?

I’ve noticed that some of the communities using Nation of Neighbors have a community Twitter feed.  If we offered Twitter integration it would work like this: local reports would be published to your feed and your tweets could be listed on your NoN page for your community members who don’t use Twitter.  Would anyone use it?

Sign Dedication in Jefferson County, WV

We’ll install the very first Nation of Neighbors Neighborhood Watch sign on Saturday!  If your local to Jefferson County, please try to come out and join us!  We’re going to try to take a ‘community photo’ at 9:20.  If you need extra incentive, consider this:  there will be Black Dog Coffee and donuts!

Here are the details:

Show Your Support for Community Policing

Saturday January 23, 2010 9:00am to 9:30am
Mission Road Community Center

We’ll be posting our first Nation of Neighbors Neighborhood Watch sign on Mission Road at the community center on Saturday morning, January 23rd. The following week, we’ll begin sending them out all over the country!

We’ll also take a group community photo around the sign. The photo will be submitted as a supporting document with our final proposal to the Knight Foundation. We’re asking for $800,000 to help support Nation of Neighbors for the next three years. We’ve made it to the second round but we need your support. Help us create a new high-tech non-profit right here in Jefferson County!

Come on out and join your neighbors, local officials and law enforcement in support of this home-grown initiative.

Neighborhood Watch Signs Available

Nation of Neighbors Sign

I’m excited to announce that our first Nation of Neighbors Neighborhood Watch signs will be available later this week!  They are high quality screenprinted aluminum road signs on a reflective white background.  They are also manufactured locally.  We will eventually offer these signs for sale.  We’ll announce more information about the new signs later this week.

Thanks for a great year

Happy New Year!

I want to take a moment to tell all of our members how much I appreciate you trying Nation of Neighbors. I know there are literally thousands of great web-based projects out there vying for your attention. Thanks very much for giving ours a chance. I hope that you have found Nation of Neighbors useful.

2009 was a wonderful year. We launched Nation of Neighbors in June and we’ve had a great response. We’ve made a lot of new friends, received some great feedback, made improvements, learned a lot and, hopefully, somewhere someone is a little safer.

Despite the great year we’ve just had, I’m really excited about 2010. We’re currently involved in several grant opportunities and exploring other funding options. We’ll be launching several new exciting features this month including the ability to reply to reports and other local news simply by replying to the notification email, discussion groups and Twitter integration. And on a more personal note, I’m also laid off from my full-time job as of today. While it’s stressful, I’m using it as an opportunity to devote more time and energy to Nation of Neighbors. As of today, this is my full time job. I’m looking forward to working with you.

Nation of Neighbors on Crime Prevention 101 With Susan Bartelstone

Upcoming Radio Show – Crime Victims Who Survived and Triumphed (Part 1)

Interviews with:

* Art Hanson, Nation of Neighbors (www.nationofneighbors.com)
* Vicki Polin, The Awareness Center, International Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse and Assault (www.theawarenesscenter.org)
* Polly Franks, the Franks Foundation (www.franksfoundation.org)
* Lavoyed Hudgins, Public Service Employees Association (www.psea.com)

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*Air Date: December 24, 2009 @8pm eastern*
Also Available On Demand @ VoiceAmerica.com
http://tinyurl.com/PreventCrime

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: SUSAN BARTELSTONE, 718-225-9284

Crime Victims who’ve overcome and thrived
and are now helping others do the same.

NEW YORK-December 21, 2009: It’s hard to think about crime and violence during this month of peace and renewal; but hang in there with me because I’m going to introduce you to four courageous people who want to tell you their stories. These are people who’ve been victims of terrible crimes, like home invasion, sexual assault, the abuse of a child or the murder of a parent, but went on to heal and are now helping others do the same.

So get comfortable in your chair, grab something warm to drink, and stick with me for a while.

First up, you’ll hear from Art Hanson, who, after having his home burglarized, started a neighborhood watch program and develop ed online tools to help communities fight crime — which he gives away for free.

Next, meet Vicki Polin, a child abuse and sexual assault survivor. As a result, she became a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor specializing in sexual trauma and has been helping others for more than 25 years. She founded The Awareness Center of the International Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse; Assault, which helps Jewish survivors of sexual violence and those who support them.

Then I’ve got Polly Franks, the mother of two daughters who were molested by a neighbor. She became a private investigator for the sole purpose of bringing him to justice — and he’s now serving life. And, she did it all while wheelchair bound. She founded the Franks Foundation to help victims of childhood sexual abuse.

And last, you’ll hear from Lavoyed Hudgins who became a caring police officer after witnessing the murder of this father during a botched robbery. Instead of being bitter, he’s tried to help kids in trouble before they became killers.

Let my guests inspire you like they’ve inspired me on this special, special night.

The Case for Public Intelligence

We’ve run into several cases lately where, after information posted on Nation of Neighbors was sent to Law Enforcement, we received a reply similar to: “Thanks! but why didn’t you just call instead of posting it online?”

That response really surprised me. I’ve been focused on sharing this sort of information for so long, it’s been a while since I last paused to wonder why I think this is a good idea. Is it a good idea? Here’s my case for public intelligence – immediately sharing information that law enforcement might otherwise not.

Punishment vs. Prevention

There are many reasons why crime or suspicious activity might be kept private. One of the most frequently cited is that releasing information ‘might interfere with an ongoing investigation’. Releasing information out into the public might alert the suspect that they’re being watched and cause the suspect to somehow modify their behavior, reducing the chance that they can be successfully apprehended and prosecuted. From the law enforcement side, this is a good thing. After all, public opinion judges them on arrests – not prevention. Someone sees something suspicious, calls their local non emergency number and reports the incident to law enforcement, who take it from there. The problem is, that unless the suspect has actually committed a crime and is immediately apprehended, there’s no real benefit to the local community. Even in cases where the incident shows up on a public crime map several days or weeks later, the opportune moment for public knowledge of the incident has often passed.

Why make these incidents public immediately? If the incident you’re thinking of reporting affected you, chances are it could affect your neighbors as well. If a scammer knocked on your door, he’s going to knock on other doors in your neighborhood. The woman driving by slowly who may be casing homes isn’t only interested in yours. If you were a victim of a crime, there’s a good chance that someone in the neighborhood knows something that can help catch the perpetrator – or prevent someone else from becoming a victim. While there is a chance that the perpetrator will find out that there was a report made by some anonymous person, it will generally cause them to move on to some other neighborhood where people aren’t watching. Anyone remember the exterminator commercials where the homeowners solved their cockroach problem by turning up the lights to the point where they had to wear sunglasses indoors? Criminals work like that too.

Many of the incidents reported online would never have been reported to law enforcement. Calling your local police takes a much higher threshold of concern than reporting something confidentially online. Unfortunately, many callers are left wondering whether their call was appreciated or valued. There’s also the fear of retaliation – not knowing if their name will be given to the suspect – and the lack of followup. Did they act on the information? Should you be concerned? Were you blowing it out of proportion?

Getting immediate community feedback is invaluable – for both law enforcement and citizens.

Apologies to New Hyde Park, NY

To our new members from New Hyde Park, NY

I apologize for the broken link to your group.  Unfortunately our system neglected to remove the ‘/’ from the link to your group when it was created, breaking the link.  I’ve fixed it and made modifications so that this does not happen again.

The correct link to your group is:
http://www.nationofneighbors.com/community/NY/herricks-new-hyde-park

Profile Photos Fixed

Profile photos are working again.  If you’ve had trouble changing your community photo or personal profile photo recently, it should work for you now.