Sacramento Offers Neighborhood Grants
Apr/07/2008 05:06 AM
Neighborhood Link was recently approached by a
non-profit organization in Sacramento who wanted us
to help promote a new initiative of neighborhood
grants. "The First 5 Sacramento
Commission works to improve the lives of the county's
youngest children and their families through an
effective, coordinated, and inclusive implementation
of the California Children and Families Act also
known as Proposition 10, which was enacted in 1998."
Their neighborhood grant program is all about creating a safe, nurturing, and connected environment for families by focusing on young children under the age of five. They have funded play groups, book reading clubs, art activities, singing circles, and more. There is a simplified application process, and their staff is available every step of the way to answer questions.
We were happy to oblige them and we helped them create an information page that we posted on all of the more than 800 Neighborhood Link Sacramento City and County websites. The page was posted under the community pages section of each website and it provided detailed information on their neighborhood grant program.
If you are a non-profit or local government organization that needs help getting the word out on a community initiative or program, contact us and we will be happy to help.
For more information on the First 5 Sacramento neighborhood grants program, visit their website at www.first5sacramento.net or check out the information page that we created for them.
Their neighborhood grant program is all about creating a safe, nurturing, and connected environment for families by focusing on young children under the age of five. They have funded play groups, book reading clubs, art activities, singing circles, and more. There is a simplified application process, and their staff is available every step of the way to answer questions.
We were happy to oblige them and we helped them create an information page that we posted on all of the more than 800 Neighborhood Link Sacramento City and County websites. The page was posted under the community pages section of each website and it provided detailed information on their neighborhood grant program.
If you are a non-profit or local government organization that needs help getting the word out on a community initiative or program, contact us and we will be happy to help.
For more information on the First 5 Sacramento neighborhood grants program, visit their website at www.first5sacramento.net or check out the information page that we created for them.
Fighting Crime via Neighborhood Social Networking
Mar/31/2008 05:48 AM
Marlborough Mesa in
Mesa, Arizona was recently able to utilize their
discussion forum as a social networking tool to fight
crime in their neighborhood.
Evidently there was an ice cream man in the neighborhood who was consistently "short-changing" the neighborhood kids. The information was posted on the Marlborough Mesa Discussion Forum which alerted the rest of the neighborhood. Other neighbors related similar stories about the same ice cream man. They called the police who in turn tracked down the ice cream man, questioned him, and he is no longer "short-changing" the neighborhood kids.
The Marlborough Mesa group are no strangers to using the Neighborhood Link Discussion forums as a social networking tool. Back in October they used their discussion forum to help identify an elderly neighbor who had been seriously injured in an auto accident.
Congrats to Alma Jones (their tireless webmaster) and the Marlborough Mesa Neighborhood on a job well done!
Evidently there was an ice cream man in the neighborhood who was consistently "short-changing" the neighborhood kids. The information was posted on the Marlborough Mesa Discussion Forum which alerted the rest of the neighborhood. Other neighbors related similar stories about the same ice cream man. They called the police who in turn tracked down the ice cream man, questioned him, and he is no longer "short-changing" the neighborhood kids.
The Marlborough Mesa group are no strangers to using the Neighborhood Link Discussion forums as a social networking tool. Back in October they used their discussion forum to help identify an elderly neighbor who had been seriously injured in an auto accident.
Congrats to Alma Jones (their tireless webmaster) and the Marlborough Mesa Neighborhood on a job well done!
Neighborhood Mediation
Mar/17/2008 07:25 AM
Neighborhood disputes can be particularly contentious
and sometimes it might seem like there is no way to
resolve them. It could be a dispute between an HOA
and a member or it could be just between two
neighbors.
Typical examples might be:
In the last 20 years, mediation has been used more and more to settle neighborhood disputes like the ones described above.
Mediation is a structured and organized process that can help people who are having a dispute come to a mutually acceptable agreement. The mediator is usually a trained neutral third party who helps the parties to clarify their issues, understand each other's perspective, and guide them to a final agreement of their own making.
One of the distinct advantages of mediation is that the effected parties retain control over the outcome of the matter. Instead of a judge, hearing examiner, or other third-party decide the matter, in mediation, it is the parties who decide.
Finally, mediation can resolve the matter faster and at significantly less costs than would litigation in the courts or an administrative proceeding
Many cities around the country offer free mediation services. Also for more information on solving neighborhood disputes, take a look at these two articles in our Neighborhood Resource Guide. The first one is about Neighborhood Mediation and the second one is about Neighborhood Dispute Resolution.
Typical examples might be:
- An HOA is trying to collect late fees from a
homeowner, but the homeowner feels he is being
charged unjustly.
- A landlord and tenant disagree over cleaning
and damage charges deducted from a security
deposit.
- A neighbor's dog barks all night long and has also caused damage to a neighbors fence.
In the last 20 years, mediation has been used more and more to settle neighborhood disputes like the ones described above.
Mediation is a structured and organized process that can help people who are having a dispute come to a mutually acceptable agreement. The mediator is usually a trained neutral third party who helps the parties to clarify their issues, understand each other's perspective, and guide them to a final agreement of their own making.
One of the distinct advantages of mediation is that the effected parties retain control over the outcome of the matter. Instead of a judge, hearing examiner, or other third-party decide the matter, in mediation, it is the parties who decide.
Finally, mediation can resolve the matter faster and at significantly less costs than would litigation in the courts or an administrative proceeding
Many cities around the country offer free mediation services. Also for more information on solving neighborhood disputes, take a look at these two articles in our Neighborhood Resource Guide. The first one is about Neighborhood Mediation and the second one is about Neighborhood Dispute Resolution.