SUN CITY – The Del Webb lifestyle is often portrayed as fun and carefree, and many Sun City residents are actively working to ensure it stays that way.
The Neighborhood Watch/Neighbors Helping Neighbors Committee has diligently worked to educate residents about community safety while helping 30 of Sun City’s 42 neighborhoods become certified Neighborhood Watch areas.
Members of the Neighborhood Watch/Neighborhors Helping Neighbors Committee were on hand to spread the word about their goals and mission with a booth at National Night Out. (Mason Souza I Sun Day Photo)
But the committee isn’t content to rest on its laurels. They recently enrolled in Project 365, a program held by National Night Out to encourage Neighborhood Watch groups to tackle an area problem or expand their services within one year.
The Sun City committee’s goal is to recertify the 30 existing programs in the community. This will help ensure that established contacts are up-to-date and residents will know what to do in case of an incident. So far, 27 neighborhoods have been recertified.
Marilyn Berendt, NHN volunteer and author of the proposal, said the committee came up with the idea while browsing the National Night Out website.
“Nobody in the whole country did a recertification of the original certification program,” she said.
The National Night Out event on August 6 at Eakin Field was a platform for the committee to get out their message to the community, and they were joined by many of their supporters, including representatives from the Huntley Police District.
Deputy Chief Michael Klunk of the Huntley Police District said Sun City’s division into neighborhoods is a very effective way to organize Neighborhood Watch areas.
“The idea behind getting your two or three blocks together isn’t really practical anymore,” he said. “If you’ve got 6000 homes out there, it’s very difficult to get to know everybody, so if you break it down into natural areas…that’s a perfect way to do that.”
Klunk encourages residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity in the community. Sergeant Michael Hewitt is the designated sergeant for Area 1, which includes Sun City. He can be reached at 847-515-5334.
Aside from the safety focus, Klunk said the night was a great way to socialize and recapture a sense of neighborhood unity.
“This is a way to get back to the grassroots of getting back into your actual neighborhood itself,” he said.
