About Building Blocks
Organizing my own neighborhood
My name is Laura Paye, and I have an amazing group of neighbors on my block. My block started a text chain in 2020 as part of a mutual support initiative lead by members of our Watts Hillandale neighborhood.
The group text on my block has been amazing! We organize block parties with it, have impromptu front yard meetups. We let each other know when we’ve seen a fox run across our front yard, or when there’s a particularly beautiful moon. When I had surgery, or when another family on the block had a baby, my neighbors organized meal trains. We check in with each other. We plan things.
During the snow and ice of this January, both of my children got the flu. They both have asthma that flares when they get sick. I realized that we did not have a functional nebulizer because we were missing the tubing. I was terrified that without their asthma medicine, my children would quickly deteriorate and we would end up in the emergency room. But with the ice it would be difficult or impossible to drive, and the store may not even be open! I desperately texted my block to see if anyone had nebulizer tubing. And they came to the rescue! Within 15 minutes, the tubing was delivered to my front door.
This event made me realize the power of this group chat. I realized we all deserve to have connection and support with our neighbors. So I decided to start building it!
In my case, I decided to take it to the next level. I am trying to support the formation of group chats on every block in my neighborhood. And create a network of “block coordinators” from each block to connect at a higher level as well.
Check out my website for my own neighborhood.
You can read more about how these kinds of connections create power:
Why Neighborhood Block Parties are Good for Democracy
Knowing our Neighbors: A Crucial First Step to Organizing in Times of Despair
How blocks are connecting in my neighborhood
Our block is well integrated, have a block email list, block plan, we know names of all our neighbours, their kids and often even their pets. We had meal trains for neighbors that were sick or having surgery. We meet regularly: Halloween party, Superbowl party, Soup NIght When Winter Strikes party, Blocktail party in the spring, etc. Best thing is that I no longer coordinate these events but other neighbors have stepped in and kept the momentum going
We have a group chat via text that includes a few neighbors on Sprunt at the T-intersection. We recently added our newest neighbors. We’re in contact regularly to borrow cups of sugar and such and to gather for campfires and block parties (when it’s warmer!).
We've started our own listserv using Google Groups and a neighbor has taken the lead with sending out quarterly updates and encouraging neighbors to join it. We also have a shared spreadsheet with self-reported contact info, personal notes, and resources available in case of emergency.
I usually try to introduce myself to new neighbors, let them know about Parade and the listserv, and organize 6 or 7 block gatherings a year. These too are informal in as much as I suggest a date and time and those who are able and/or interested gather in the street chat for an hour or so to catch up and maintain connections. Some neighbors are pretty much the core and most often attend, a couple have never participated and the others are more sporadic in that they stay for only a few minutes or come 1/2 of the times.
A WhatsApp thread called Watts-Hillandale Neighborbood Support (23 of us on if, many around Albany) was started when ICE began raiding Durham, and we have shared informational, social and physical resources since then, including to help prepare for the ice storm and such.
Our block keeps an updated contact list that circulates about once a year. In general we contact each other about fun events folks are invited to, info about construction/tree work that may cause interruptions, and some neighbors use it to share when they are going out of town, etc.
We already have a WhatsApp chat group for the 900, 1000, and 1100 blocks of Iredell. There is also a legacy iMessage group that is still used by folks who don't want to use WhatsApp.
The WhatsApp we created at that time has been wonderful community building resource, for everything from block parties to borrowing cups of sugar to making sure people are prepared for the recent ice/snow storms.
There is an informal connection, in the 2300 block of Indian Trl that is coordinated by the two inhabitants of 2308, one of whom is a professional community organizer. I’m not the oldest one, but I’m getting there. We’re all feeling supported by each other.