A SERIES of crimes close to home inspired Gordon couple Mark and Sheila Lynch to start up a branch of Neighbourhood Watch – and their efforts have won them an award.
The couple were given the ACT Neighbourhood Watch Member of the Year Award for creating and growing the Gordon NHW.
“We were so proud and honoured,” says Mark. “I mean, some people have been doing this for 30 years and we’re pretty new at it.
“But we’ve always felt it was going well because we increase our membership every month. And, of course, you can’t do it without a great team – we have a good mix of young professionals in their 30s, right up to a 79-year-old. And we have some 83-year-olds delivering the newsletter for us!”
Sheila came up with the idea of starting Neighbourhood Watch following a spate of crime in the area.
“Tyres were being slashed, windows broken, that sort of thing,” says Mark. “We also witnessed a rather brutal crime in a nearby house where some boys were attempting to break in, and shouting threatening things.
“We put ourselves forward as witnesses, but nothing really came of it, and it got us thinking.
“We contacted the ACT NHW, and they said they’d love to help us get started in Gordon as there was nothing like that down here.”
Mark and Sheila started by creating flyers and hand-delivering them to every home in Gordon – 2800 in all.
Neighbourhood Watch is about liaising with police and the community, says Mark, but he believes that awareness is paramount, too.
“We now produce a newsletter for every home in the suburb to maintain awareness,” he says. “We try not to focus too much on crime and making it negative. We cover people like the RSPCA, the Fire Brigade and Tuggeranong Men’s Shed.
“Sheila also arranged sponsorship from LJ Hooker, which has been wonderful.
“I just think it’s so important to get to know your neighbour and look after each other,” says Mark. “I’ve had calls from elderly ladies who are afraid to go out at night or don’t know their neighbours, and they just want me to know they’re there.
Mark says that he and Sheila definitely feel they’re on the right track.
“If we can make people feel part of the community, and feel safer, then we’re connecting people and we’re doing our job,” he says.
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