By Fire Chief Steve Carter, Police Chief Kevin Mooney, and Council on Aging Director Carolyn Bottum

Lincoln is a community where neighbors take special care to look out for one another. This neighborly tradition is especially important during severe storms, power outages, or other unusual circumstances when frail elders, those with disabilities and others may have special difficulties letting people know if they’re in trouble, not getting enough food and supplies, or not staying safe. In fact, residents may need assistance at any time during the year due to a fall, medical crisis, or other emergency.

Why is help from neighbors so essential? Neighbors may be the only people who’ll notice if something seems amiss at someone’s house, if a resident hasn’t been seen for a day or two, or if mail or newspapers are piling up. If the power is out, a neighbor can check on a resident who can’t be reached by telephone. If someone needs a warm or cool place to stay, a neighbor may be able to provide that quickly and easily. While Public Safety and the the Council on Aging provide other ways to check on residents and offer assistance, the more options our community has for finding out and responding to potentially life-threatening emergencies, the better.

Some neighborhoods and developments have organized or may want to consider organizing to provide neighbor-to-neighbor help. Some activities and services that formal or informal neighborhood organizations can offer include:

• Social events to help neighbors get to know each other
• Gathering information about which residents may be in special need so they can be paired up with volunteers
• Organized wellbeing checks during storms and other situations, or throughout the year

However, informal neighborliness can be just as essential. Many times people will not ask for help but will be grateful if it’s offered. Do you have a neighbor who might need special assistance? If so, you could offer to:

• Check on during storms
• Be an emergency contact should the Town or others have a concern about the neighbor’s wellbeing
• Run an occasional errand or take them to the grocery store or pharmacy, especially in weather when they might not feel comfortable driving
• Provide snow shoveling, especially so services like Meals on Wheels can get to the resident
• Keep an extra key or garage door code so that public safety officials or a relative can enter the home in case of emergency
• Call or visit just to provide an opportunity to talk

These seemingly small acts can make a big difference to someone who may be concerned about how he or she will get through a storm, power outage, or other emergency ,or who could just use some everyday cheering up.

Being neighborly has benefits that go beyond severe weather or other serious circumstances. Building a closer neighborhood makes for a greater sense of community and contributes to the quality of life here in Lincoln. And when neighbors make a point of introducing themselves to neighbors, they might find someone fascinating who becomes a friend for life!

For more information about forming an organized neighborhood effort or for general concerns, contact Public Safety at 781-259-8113. If you need help related to elder services, please call the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811.