Nightmare Neighbors |TODAY|

Submitted by dan. on 2007-02-28 06:00.
Community Action | Crime Prevention

Harmon has three simple tips to try to repair (and prevent) damage: Speak directly. Spend time listening as well as talking. And avoid saying “always” or “never,” or other phrases that escalate disputes.

Will Morton writes in Baltimore Magazine about what to do "when the people next door are driving you insane”:

Many people who come for mediation have called the police more than 30 times. Preventing that number of calls, Harmon said, translates into savings for both police and taxpayers.

“We offer people a way out, rather than going to police” with disputes over yards, porches, parking, trash, music, noise, and animals, Harmon says. “A lot of the issues have to do with Baltimore as a city of rowhouses, and that people are living 10 feet away from each other.”

Harmon has three simple tips to try to repair (and prevent) damage: Speak directly. Many disputes involve messages through family members or other neighbors. Said Harmon, “If people talk things out face to face, they can make it better.”

Spend time listening as well as talking. Talk about how the situation affects you, rather than how horrible the other person is.

And avoid saying “always” or “never,” or other phrases that escalate disputes.

Read it all.