Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Neighborhood Task Force News from Jeanne Stevens, NTF Co-Chair

Hey, neighbor! The Voices of the Village Neighborhood Task Force (NTF) has been a busy group this past month and we have lots to share with you!

First off we want to congratulate our own Patti Richards for spearheading the float
project for the July 4^th parade. The float was a representation of the Veteran’s Beach and Korean War Memorial area of Hyannis and highlighted the family fun
available to all ages. Our float won the ribbon for Best Depiction of the Parade Theme – Fun, Family, Friends, and Freedom! Pretty good for a bunch of first time float makers. It was a wonderful project and fun was had by young and old alike.

Some of the areas NTF is researching include: “Who you gonna’ call?” – a listing of what department or agency to call depending on your question or problem, how to determine if speed bumps are right for your street, and how to improve life in your little corner of the village through neighbors helping neighbors. We are also
collaborating with the other Voices of the Village task forces to avoid repetition of efforts and to bring all the information to the village at large through a new website: www.hyanniscivic.com.

At the request of one of our members, we are assisting him to organize a neighborhood meeting to discuss a possible Neighborhood Watch. We helped create an initial flyer inviting his neighbors to a meeting at his house to discuss their concerns and possible solutions.

One or two members of the NTF have offered to help him facilitate this meeting. Out of his experiences, and those of others who have already established Neighborhood Watch in their neighborhoods, we plan to assemble a step by step guide on what to do if you think a Neighborhood Watch is the right step for your area, as well as some tips on what works and what doesn’t. The bottom line is that each neighborhood has its own identity so the solutions need to come from the people living there.

While we have no intentions of “invading” any neighborhoods and telling them what to do, we are recruiting people from various parts of Hyannis to join our group and be informed of all that is available to help grow stronger neighborhoods. 

We meet every other Wednesday at 4pm at the Federated Church on Main Street for 1 hour.  Just 2 hours a month could make a big difference in the quality of a neighborhood!  

So please talk to your neighbors and see if one or two of you want to share coming to the meetings and bring your questions and/or suggestions. We are especially looking for neighbors from areas north and west of Main Street: the ‘Grove’ or tree street area (Maple, Elm, Linden, Mulberry, etc.), Hirimar/Fresh Holes, Pitcher’s Way, Castlewood, Suomi, to name a few.

Our next meeting is August 3. 

Hope to see some new faces!