Kacie Foulk, deputy development director, is pictured during a City Council meeting earlier this year.

After hearing a lot of recent talk about the lack of community feeling in Jamestown, the Department of Development has started a social media campaign focused on being neighbors.

Kasie Foulk, deputy development director, discussed this new initiative with the Planning Commission during their May meeting.

“There’s been a lot of talk around the community about the lack of community,” Foulk said. “Our new campaign is Be A Neighbor JTNY. I made a post Friday before Hands On, and we are hoping this helps bring a sense of pride back to the neighborhoods.”

Foulk added the hope was that the social media campaign could be used as a launch point to encourage people to be kind and help their neighbors. Foulk encouraged Planning Commission members to take a look at the post, which encourages people to think about what being a neighbor means to them and how that can benefit their communities.

“We’re just asking people to share the post with what it means to be a neighbor to you,” Foulk said. “Each month we’re going to have a neighbor spotlight, so if you did something you feel should be recognized, if you saw someone, did something for someone, or someone did something for you, shoot it over to my email. It gets featured on our Be A Neighbor JTNY neighbor spotlight post.”

Foulk said the goal with this idea is to encourage people to meet people that they live by and talk with or check up on them. She added that there have been times where garbage has accumulated and the grass has not been mowed and people have not been seen for a few days because they have fallen in their homes and no one has bothered to check on them.

“Right now, times are hard,” Foulk said. “Financially, people are strapped. Giving to your pantries is being a good neighbor. Just checking to see if they need help with their dog is being a good neighbor. Brushing off their car when it snows is being a good neighbor.”

Foulk had some cards she brought with her to the planning commission, detailing some ideas of what people can do to be a good neighbor. The card included goals on the back, with the number one goal being to be kind to one another.

“I think now that’s more important than ever and we just need to be reminded that not everyone is going to agree with the things you have to say or do, and that’s ok,” Foulk said. “We just need to be respectful of one another.”

Foulk encouraged people to email her some things for neighbor highlights, adding that if they make their own neighbor post to use #BeANeighborJTNY.

Foulk also briefly addressed another DOD initiative with the planning commission, Final Fridays, which is set to take place at the Double Tree on the final Friday of May. Final Fridays is a way to encourage the community to come out and meet with DOD staff at certain places in the community and try something new. People can come with their questions or concerns or ideas that they want to bring to the city and have those addressed there.

“We’re there just to listen and get feedback from everybody and just meet new people, new people that we’re serving,” Foulk said.

City Planner Jason Kulaszewski added to that, saying these initiatives are looking for ways to connect with the community more, and making it so people do not always have to meet with DOD staff in city hall. It encourages people to meet more with their neighbors and gives the DOD the ability to meet with people in a more personable way.

“I think it’s very important, especially in these moments in time where we feel divided,” Kulaszewski said. “I think it’s important for neighbors coming out who maybe haven’t seen each other in years, and just having some conversations about the work we’re trying to do. So that’s going to be an intentional effort that we continue to take on over the summer and years to come hopefully.”