City of Springfield kicks off Neighbor for Neighbor project to build better communities

Weller and Robberson residents will pilot the programs

April 26, 2012|by Jonah Kaplan, KSPR News | jkaplan@kspr.com

NORTH SPRINGFIELD, Mo — We need to be good to our neighbors - that's the message Springfield Mayor Jim O'Neal has for the city, and tonight a special program kicks off to help.

The City of Springfield will invite residents in the Weller and Robberson neighborhoods to sign up for the "Neighbor for Neighbor" initiative.

Any neighbor young and old can come to Thursday's open meeting and share concerns facing them in the community - economic or social.

With the city's help, community members will split up into teams and come up with suggestions for how to improve their quality of life.

After a few weeks of team meetings, Neighbor for Neighbor wraps up with an action forum, when all the groups reconvene and share their answers.

We spoke to several Weller and Robberson residents and many said they hardly know their neighbors anymore. They hope this program just opens the lines of communication.

"We are our brother's keeper," says Rosetta Clarida, a Weller resident of more that 40 years. "We need to know more of what is going on in our neighborhood so we can better look out for one another. You know what's coming and going in the neighborhood, when there are strange cars, things that are not normal in the neighborhood."

The City of Springfield really wants to introduce residents to their neighbors, but several other Ozarks organizations are involved, too.

The action teams will work with the Council of Churches, The Kitchen, Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation and area universities, among others.

Officials say the city and its partners have set a target of 80 neighbors to make up the action teams.

Neighbor for Neighbor kicks off at Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Evangel University's Fine Arts Center. It's on the south side of the chapel.

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