There's certainly no shortage of bad neighbors, which makes a great neighborhood filled with helpful, friendly neighbors an absolute gift. Good neighbors look out for each other and offer true peace of mind by coming through in a crisis. These are some of the best local news stories where neighbors have gone above and beyond, often saving someone's life.
Houston neighbors saved a woman in labor by making a human chain to get her to safety during Hurricane Harvey. Annie and Greg Smith watched the rising waters and worried. A neighbor checked on them and then marshaled the rest of their neighbors. In 30 minutes, a crew of neighbors came ready to help. The water was so high that the Smiths' neighbors and firefighters formed a human chain to help Annie Smith to a nearby truck to get to Texas Children's Hospital.
Patricia Chance, a 53-year-old Houston grandmother, was saved when her neighbor helped rescue her from her burning home. Chance had just fallen asleep when the fire started. Her neighbor Craig Chilo saw the flames. "I was saying, 'Get out! Get out the house! Get out the house! Fire! Fire!'" Chilo said. Chance said Chilo's yelling woke her up so she could escape.
Hudson, Florida, resident Angie Tyma had lived in her house for 35 years. Sadly her husband died about 20 years ago, and a friend bought their house and rented it back to Tyma. But that person stopped paying the mortgage. The lender foreclosed and the house was sold, leaving Tyma homeless. Her neighbor Danielle Calder put down $167,500 to buy the house in 2016 and let Tyma rent again on her 89th birthday. "It was the right thing to do," Calder told "Today." "We're family — the whole neighborhood."
In Stow, Massachusetts, the Rajneesh Mathur family knew they needed help when mom Pooja received a stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer diagnosis last year. The web-based nonprofit Neighbor Brigade connected with the Mathurs' neighbors to help the family with various transportation needs. "One of the moms she said, 'I'll drop the kids to the karate and I'll take you to the doctor,' and she stayed with me for an hour," Rajneesh said. "There were no words to say thank you."
When Mary Dolan, a senior living in Albany, New York, needed some help to strengthen her petite frame, neighbor Anthony Granato stepped in to show her how to correctly work out with physical therapy exercises. Anthony tutored Mary in fitness sessions as he spotted her to make sure she didn't get injured. The two made videos of their exercise routines to inspire more neighborly interaction.
Erica Hartwig of Organic Moments Weddings in Boca Raton, Florida, had a catastrophic event and a great neighbor story. "I lost my house in Hurricane Irma. It took my family including five kids three months to find a new house. This was December, and we lost our belongings in the hurricane damage. Our new next-door neighbors came over. We visited, and hours later they brought over a new Christmas tree for the house. They noticed when they came over we had no tree. It was amazing someone we didn't even know bring us one with a stand on it too."
A 60-year-old homeless woman named Smokie was sleeping outside in the dirt not far from Elvis Summers' apartment in Los Angeles. She would ask him if he had any recyclables for her to cash in. Through these conversations, they became friends. Elvis was inspired by a news story about tiny houses for the homeless to build one for Smokie. It took him five days to build the house with his own funds, and has since built several small homes for homeless people in his neighborhood.
Fife, Washington, resident Janet Kusumoto is a neighbor to treasure. She figured out that her neighbor, Marine Corps veteran William "Bill" Brown, 77, was living primarily on his own and needed assistance. She got him to a barber before last Christmas (he "looked like Rip Van Winkle") and has checked on him ever since. "At our age, you never know what's going to happen, so I wanted to make sure he was OK," she said. She's also helped him find assistance in pursuing veterans benefits.
In Groveton, Virginia, a woman had fallen in her yard, but the quick actions of a 12-year-old neighbor boy saved her life. Joseph Yap had been riding his bike when he found his neighbor had fallen down. Joseph ran home and told his mom. Thanks to him, police and rescue workers department came within minutes to save his neighbor's life.
Jay Jablonski in Avon, Connecticut, saw lightning hit his neighbor's home and acted immediately. A freak storm caused lightning to strike a tree across the street, which then hit the home of an elderly couple. "I saw smoke coming out of a side of the siding where a pipe was going through," Jablonski said. Jablonski grabbed two small fire extinguishers in the couple's basement and put the fire out.
In Gwinn, Michigan, the local high school football team helped out an elderly neighbor. The team cleared and stacked wood for him for the coming cold weather. "They're willing to sacrifice and do things like this and they're willing to sacrifice out on the football field, we love doing things for the community, we've helped at churches, we help move furniture. We're always doing anything that can help the community," Coach Dion Brown said.
Neighbors like Chicago resident Theresa Siaw, the founder of a summer sports program at Roberto Clemente High School, are invaluable. Siaw's program offers kids a safe place to participate in positive activities. She also helped her neighbor Stephanie Hart, when no one else would. Theresa helped Stephanie obtain her Women Business Certification and donated personal funds to help her Stephanie launch the Brown Sugar Bakery, which has been in business for 10 years.
Libby Kiszner, author of "Dear Libby: Will You Answer My Questions About Friendship?" recalls her neighbor Mrs. Weinreb, a Holocaust survivor and elderly widow. "My parents welcomed her into our home and made her feel that she was part of our family. Mrs. Weinreb shared with me unimaginable stories from her past. I learned about the power of listening, and how much relief it can bring."
Jacksonville Jaguar linebacker Paul Posluszny was caught by his next-door neighbors helping prepare ahead of Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The strapping Pro-Bowl player was seen and snapped helping his next-door neighbors put up hurricane shutters to protect their homes.
One brave and vigilant Atlanta neighbor observed a pizza delivery person, a pregnant woman, get beaten and robbed in front of the house where she had brought a pizza. The armed neighbor jumped into action and stopped the violence, allowing police to arrive to do their job and keep anyone else from being robbed and beaten.
Ann Finkbeiner is a published author and science writer who lost her husband after 30 years of marriage. She told her story on NPR, crediting her neighbors' empathy for working magic to help her grieve. She wrote: "Another neighbor: Drinks tonight? Come over, I've got cheese … Let's go out, there's a nice new restaurant, I'll drive … I made you this little pumpkin cake. It's good for breakfast." Finkbeiner said: "Empathy is pain's best antidote. The pain doesn't go away; but somehow or other, empathy gives the pain meaning, and pain-with-meaning is bearable."
Duncan, Oklahoma, resident Amber Malcom, owner of Shabby Chick Natural Products recalls a couple of remarkable neighbors. "I was recently out of town, and my dog was hit by a car early in the morning. The man that hit the dog woke my neighbors and then left. They went looking for my dog on my farm, found her, and took her to the vet. My dog had to have her leg amputated. The man who hit my dog left the dog to die. My neighbors, Shannon and Steve, saved her life!"
A next-door neighbor rallied to the cause of a 10-year-old boy who was helping a blind deer find food. Every morning before school, the boy would make sure it had enough to eat. Inspired by his kindness, the boy's neighbor, a Reddit user named bluecollarclassicist snapped a photo of the duo to share on the internet, then contacted a local rescue group. "He showed a lot of love and respect, and my wife and I are going to talk to his mom about a way she would want to see his act of kindness rewarded," bluecollarclassicist wrote on Reddit.
Shereen Thor, a motivational speaker and founder of Awaken the Rebel, shares her next-door neighbor's good deeds. "My next-door neighbor who is savvy in holistic medicines saved my two kids, ages 1½ years-old and a 4-year-old from having to take antibiotics. She offered me a natural garlic drops remedy I was completely unaware of to help clear their ear infections. She's a holistic person, so she knows about all these tips and tricks. I'm a busy entrepreneur mom who doesn't know about all these granola remedies, so I was grateful."
Topeka, Kansas, policeman Sgt. Byron Endsley did more than just serve and protect his local community. He also aided his neighbors who got snowed in. "He [Endsley] has cleared my driveway for many years, including Christmas morning 2009. He never accepts any money for this work and rarely accepts gifts of homemade food, stating simply, that he 'just likes the snow,'" said neighbor Vicki Arnett, who often heard Byron, now retired from the police force, shoveling snow early in the morning or later in the evening.