Listening to those who live on your block helps you connect with the people that make up your community. Let’s break listening out into a few common groups of people to see how the story of your place can be more fully understood.

Parents of School-age Children

Parents of school-age children offer a unique insight into what’s happening on your block. These parents have dreams for their families as well as themselves, dreams both for now and the future. Learn about the story of your place by talking with these neighbors around the following areas:

• • How the community supports healthy families.
  • Gaps and Strengths of resources for families.
  • Effectiveness of child education, support and safety.
  • Possibilities to improve things for our children’s futures.

These are just a few areas to listen to from this group. Learning about your neighbors’ dreams of the future, the ways they feel supported or discouraged, and how their children are taught are significant parts of a community. Those without school-age children are an area where we can see another part of our community’s story.

Senior Citizens

Senior citizens often have a different perspective to offer around the story that’s unfolding on your block. They can see familiar things happening that have occurred before. Additionally, they usually focus on things related to healthcare, safety, accessibility, and convenience. Here are a few areas to consider:

• • How safe do they feel
  • Things that are getting better and worse in the neighborhood
  • Community support for their needs (e.g. social, financial, health)
  • Accessible and convenient activities and services
  • Support from other neighbors

Parents and senior citizens are on the older end of our community storytellers. We can also learn through younger neighbors.

School-age kids

School-age kids are great storytellers and usually willing to tell you their experiences and thoughts if you’ve gained their trust. Kids have a unique way of viewing the world, and it can enlighten us all to sit and listen to their thoughts and feelings.

• • How do others treat them (home, neighborhood, school, activities)
  • Hard things they are dealing with regularly
  • Ways they feel supported and unsupported
  • Hopes for the future of their neighborhood

Kids think more deeply than we often give them credit for doing. Listening to them can help you understand their challenges and triumphs, and the forces for and against them.

Take Time to Listen

These are a few lenses by which I have found it helpful to look at my block, but there are many other ways to seek to understand the story of what’s happening in your place.

Listen to those around you. Hear their dreams and fears. Envision a greater future with your neighbors and take a step toward it, bringing those on your block along with you. It might take them awhile to see the vision, too, and that’s okay. Much value comes from the journey.

Listening requires vulnerability and intentionality, which can be hard traits to find in our communities. It can be uncomfortable, but over time continuing to listen, learn, and apply those learnings can bring powerful changes to a neighborhood. Let us know other areas you focus on in your neighborhood and the types of things you discuss to learn more about your place’s story.

Let’s go!