CNN is a citizen organization involving nearly every neighborhood in this 16,000 resident town. Its mission is to promote positive resident communication, improving the quality of life and public safety through regular, nonpartisan, citizen interaction. It does this through neighborhood development and emergency preparedness for individuals, families, and neighborhoods.

"Concord is very fortunate to be ahead of the curve compared to other communities," says CNN Co-Chair, Deborah Bier. "We do not have to now start at the beginning -- we are in a position to respond immediately...and have, since September 11th."

Both Emergency Preparedness and Neighborhood Building
CNN has a system of more than 130 Neighborhood Contacts (NC), one for every neighborhood. NC's are information conduits between town emergency services and individual town residents (and vise versa). They also promote communication within the neighborhood, greet newcomers, encourage emergency preparedness and actively create neighborliness. Neighborhood Contacts maintain a household inventory for each neighbor outlining, for example, who has special needs, who is a nurse, who has a generator.

Co-Chair Rick Wheeler points out that "CNN creates positive neighborhood interaction, such as familiarity between neighbors, neighborhood gatherings and other projects of collective benefit and enjoyment. These bring residents in touch with the normal rhythms and regular inhabitants of their neighborhood." Neighbors can more quickly identify suspicious activity, and stronger goodwill and conflict resolution between neighbors is fostered.

With Roots in Y2K, CNN Persisted and Grew
CNN had its beginnings in January, 1999 in response to two conditions: the need to prepare for possible Year 2000 problems, and the need for stronger, closer neighborhoods where residents knew and helped one another. There were concerns there might be power outages or loss of critical systems. Also, there was and remains the possibility of emergencies due to other causes such as ice storms and hurricanes. A community needs assessment performed the prior year had already identified the need for stronger neighborhoods.

From the outset, it was clear that CNN was to be for far more than Y2K: there would be a perennial and ongoing need for community building and emergency preparedness for individuals, families and neighborhoods. Because of this broad emphasis and the organization's responsiveness to changing times, CNN has thrived.

For the past three years, CNN has continued to focus on emergency preparedness and community building. It has developed resources not otherwise offered in the community, yet which work well with existing services. As a result, CNN has created strong relationships both within our neighborhoods as well between citizens and town departments. These include Concord's Emergency Services, a variety of town departments, local and state elected officials, The American Red Cross, and others.

In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, there has been a heightened and widespread receptivity toward this group's work, both within Concord and beyond. Inspired by CNN's efforts, Acton just this month began its own version of a neighborhood network. Other communities in the Commonwealth have also expressed interest, as has Speaker Finneran of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

CNN a Proven Agent for Community Change
Among CNN's achievements of the past three years:

• CNN has facilitated Neighborhood Gatherings at which neighbors met one another (many for the first time) and emergency preparedness for individuals, families and their neighborhoods was discussed.

• CNN provides opportunities for face-to-face meetings between Emergency Services and dozens of Neighborhood Contacts to increase familiarity with town departments, pass along information in both directions, and to develop and practice emergency protocols.

• Following a devastating fire in a Concord professional building which affected more than 50 tenants, CNN mobilized volunteers, looked for replacement office space, and provided information, emotional and material support to the victims of the fire.

• Individual Neighborhood Contacts make welfare visits or calls on elderly, handicapped and ailing neighbors, especially in the event of severe weather or other potentially dangerous conditions.

• A CNN email announcement list currently reaches almost every Neighborhood Contact, providing rapid dissemination of information from police and town services about local criminal activity, crime prevention, public safety and health issues, and more.

• Together, CNN and the Concord Police Department created a program where CNN's Neighborhood Contacts can be reached by phone using the Police Department's DialLogic automated phone notification system. This system quickly disseminates crime watch and prevention and public safety information. It can also be used during emergencies.

• CNN is a runner up for the prestigious 2001 Massachusetts Neighborhood Watch Commission's annual award.

• CNN and the Concord Police initiated and partnered the revitalization of our high school's 100 watt FM radio station, with two-fold benefits to our community. The radio station is available for unusually efficient public information notification during emergencies. This allows some relief to our small police staff who can become consumed by resource-demanding information-gathering phone calls from residents.

• The station is also the most popular extra-curricular activity at the high school, involving 120 students in its first year back on the air. As such, it keeps at-risk youth engaged in constructive, community-based activities, especially during critical late afternoon and early evening hours when some have historically found themselves in trouble.

• CNN is currently organizing an amateur radio (ham) ARES Emergency Response Team to become part of the county, state, regional, and national system of such teams. The goal is to assist communication between neighborhoods, between neighborhoods and police, between Town departments, and state, regional and federal emergency authorities. Local hams feed SKYWARN advance weather reporting to the Police, helping us plan ahead with information from the National Weather Service.

• CNN provides and promotes educational opportunities to residents in a variety of areas including Domestic Violence, First Aid, and Emergency Preparedness, partnering with such local organizations as our town's Adult and Community Education department, the Domestic Violence Victim Assistance Program (DVVAP), and the Concord Chamber of Commerce.

Artwork: Hometown Websmith and ArtToday.