When a Stranger Calls: An App Brought My Tonawanda Neighborhood Together

Social media apps can get a bad rap...but it's usually for its users' behavior, rather than the app itself.  I've been known to publicly share my frustration with the invisible shield that bullies and cowards seem to acquire when sitting behind a keyboard.

But not all of them are bad, and one of them that's new to me has actually proven to be very useful, even though I was a bit hesitant to join.

The app is called NextDoor, and it's a private social network for your neighborhood. I tend to be kind of a "private" neighbor in that I generally keep to myself, but I am SO lucky to have AMAZINGLY wonderful people on either side of my house.  We watch out for each other.

On Saturday, my one neighbor Ellen (yes, the one who sometimes mows my lawn! LOL!) texted me asking if someone had come to my door asking for money.  They hadn't, but apparently a young man had gone to the house on the other side of mine, asking for $20.  Then, I saw the following message on NextDoor:

All of the sudden, the floodgates opened, and a TON more comments came in, including:

I found this app SO useful, and also, opened my mind up to realizing we are all part of a community, and we watch out for each other.   Even though this person didn't come to MY home, I did end up notifying the Town of Tonawanda police about this thread, so they were aware of an issue.

Has an app ever surprised you with how useful it is?  Do you have a favorite (besides this one, obviously...) app that connects you with your community?

More importantly, can I have $20?

(Joking. I'm JOKING!!!)