[Summit] USPS and Brian's idea

[Jennifer McClelland]

If my comments on this board are going to be passed on to other  
agencies, agencies that I personally don't have a problem with, then  
I will stop commenting on this board.

Jennifer McClelland
jennifer at luxmoore.com


On Aug 23, 2006, at 12:52 PM, Hope for Health wrote:

> Jonathan,
>
> Truthfully, the original idea - for a volunteer
> to collect and pass on comments made on the list
> with names/contact info removed, seems simpler
> and more effective.
>
> We all have the capability of making individual
> complaints now.  A group of them is more likely
> to get their attention. Also, some folks would
> feel more comfortable commenting anonymously.
>
> It doesn't have to be a regular thing for the
> SNA - just something that happens by agreement
> of those on the list from time to time.
>
> Blessings,
>
> Liberty G
>
> Blessings,
>
> Liberty G
>
>
> --- Jonathan Howard <jon at ceffect.com> wrote:
>
>> Members of the SNA Board have been talking about how
>> to make this kind of
>> anecdotal information useful in improving the
>> neighborhood. It came up
>> before with our discussion of recent vandalism and
>> crime. Brian's idea is
>> on our longterm agenda. Maybe we should move it up.
>>
>> It's important for people to speak up directly and
>> let the responsible
>> authorities know our problems and what we expect to
>> be done for us case by
>> case. However, if we only act individually, we never
>> know whether our
>> problem is a rare instance or a systemic problem. We
>> don't know how many
>> other people got ignored or mis-served or given an
>> altogether different
>> story. We don't learn from others who have had the
>> same problem.
>>
>> For SNA, the lack of data makes it hard for us to
>> act. It's not our task
>> (and we don't have the horsepower) to intervene in
>> most individual cases...
>> but it is our job to spot significant shared
>> problems and see whether we
>> can whip up a committee to do something about it.
>> Like anyone else, we can
>> generalize one or two reports into a bigger problem
>> than they really
>> represent. Or we can fail to see patterns of
>> significant problems cropping up.
>>
>> But if neighbors share our problems, as on this
>> list, we can get a reality
>> check. I'm happy with my mail, but if you seem to be
>> having a problem, you
>> know you are not alone (and I can't say you are
>> crazy!). The PO does seems
>> to have a problem it should fix.
>>
>> However, this list exists for discussion and
>> community-building, not
>> incident tracking. It's really not feasible for SNA
>> volunteers to collate
>> and forward our anecdotes to various offices on any
>> regular basis.
>>
>> What I've been thinking of is whether we could offer
>> neighbors a Web-based
>> vehicle for making individual reports to responsible
>> people that would also
>> create an ongoing record. It wouldn't replace any
>> other channel and we
>> couldn't expect to capture 100% of anything, but we
>> might well collect
>> enough to be useful. I'm thinking of a Web-based
>> "complaint department"
>> with standard forms for various types of issues:
>> mail delivery, minor
>> vandalism and petty crime, city services, etc. Like
>> this list, it would be
>> totally voluntary. We'd have to address privacy
>> concerns. It would need to
>> be simple to use and operate.
>>
>> To inform the board's consideration, I would
>> appreciate your thoughts on
>> this idea and any tips or experiences you may have
>> had with systems like
>> what I've described.
>>
>>
>> Jonathan Howard
>> President, Summit Neighborhood Association
>> 401 331 2272
>> jhoward at sna.providence.ri.us
>>
>>
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>>
>
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