On Tuesday night from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the annual National Night Out event will be held at Lansdale Borough Hall. All members of the community are welcome to come to this free event arranged by the Lansdale Police Department. National Night Out is all about creating a positive environment where kids and families can interact with police and other first responders.
As many of you know, typically, when someone interacts with first responders and police officers, the day has not usually gone the way you had hoped. You might be running late to work and speeding, you might have gotten injured exercising or training for a marathon, or maybe you accidently lit the toaster on fire because you weren’t paying attention due to the kids arguing over the TV remote and it set the alarm off (speaking from experience here).
The point is it is helpful to have an interaction with first responders that is not in a high stress situation. You can get to know them as people, and they can get to see you when you are not stressed to your breaking point. The hope is that through relationships and community development, we can create a safer environment for all.
On top of building a stronger community bond with first responders, National Night Out serves an even more important purpose for children, as it can be their first interaction with these services. Too often, the first interaction with police is negative. They have said the wrong thing, lost control of their emotions, or are being kids and getting into situations that later in life they will learn were not so smart. National Night Out may not stop kids from being kids and making poor choices, but it does give them a chance to speak with, or even play a game with, an officer and learn that underneath that badge is someone who cares about them and the community.
This is also true for the fire and EMT first responders for kids. Let’s face it, a child under the age of eight in a fire situation may see someone in fireman’s gear and hearing the loud noises as frightening. The last thing we want is a child running away from the very people who are there to help or save them.
Allowing them the chance to interact with emergency responders in their gear outside that stress filled environment allows them to acclimate and recognize that they are there to help. Again, a positive first experience can go a long way when it comes to emergency response.
So, if you are free between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Tuesday and want to get to know your neighbors and your first responders, come down to Borough Hall and have some fun. There will be free food and games for everyone and together we can help keep moving Lansdale forward together.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert. The views expressed are his own.)
See also:
Mayoral Musings: Let’s Talk About Crime in Lansdale
Mayoral Musings: Honoring ‘Mayor Mike’
Mayoral Musings: Growing the Lansdale Police Department
Mayoral Musings: Reaction to Roe vs Wade Being Overturned
Mayoral Musings: Enterprise Zone Discussion
