LANGLEY, Wash. — Neighbor Web, a simple way to organize residents
for neighborhood cooperation, is outlined in the Y2K Community
Project web site, www.y2kcommunity.org.
‘It’s a very simple concept based on the friendship ring ideas
of Tom Atlee (of the Berkeley, Cal.-based Co-Intelligence
Institute),’ said Halim Dunsky, a community Y2K organizer and
executive editor of Y2K Community Project. ‘Its purpose is to allow
neighborhoods to weave themselves together through better
communication,’ he said.
The purpose of the friendship ring is to pass vital information
efficiently around the neighborhood, such as meeting announcements,
news, warnings, and calls for help. In the case of a Y2K problem,
such as a power outage, information can be relayed by phone, an
alternative radio plan using such resources as Family Radio
Service-FRS, Citizen’s Band-CB, or Amateur Radio-HAM, or
face-to-face contact. ‘The neighborhood web plan is oriented to be
used in a small neighborhood context,’ Dunsky said.
The technique works by several ‘ringleaders’ initiating the
Neighbor Web. These ringleaders list a number of friends in the
neighborhood (3 to 8 households) and add one or two next-door
neighbors not already listed. They make a list of names, addresses,
phone numbers and e-mail addresses and then ask each person on the
list to participate in the ring to help relay vital information in
case of an emergency. Ringleaders then make a plan for contacting
everybody in the ring — divvying up the calls or using a call-tree
system.
The technique, which can be used for Y2K or other mutual aid
purposes, makes it easier to connect with other neighborhoods and
professional emergency services, Dunsky said, as well as to plan
ahead for other emergency services such as road clearing and
sharing resources, and to promote preparedness and emergency
response training.
Contact: Halim Dunsky, executive editor, Y2K Community
Project; web site: www.y2kcommunity.org.
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