SECOND OF FIVE PARTS
This is the second in the Dayton Daily News five-part series about Unsung Heroes in the region. The Dayton Daily News asked readers to submit nominations of people who go above and beyond to help others but rarely receive recognition for their work.
The day Sheila Back was born, her mother moved into her home in Jefferson Township.
Her mom still lives there and now so does Back and her husband, one of Back’s sisters, three aunts and a niece just bought a house there. Another sister also is looking for a home in the township.
“I lived there until I got of age, and then I moved away to another state, and I came back and Jefferson. It was just like home. So when I think of home, that’s where I think about, Jefferson Township. It’s just kind of where my roots are. And that just kind of goes to show you it’s a really nice place and people like that area. It’s awesome.”
It was that dedication to Jefferson Township that inspired Jefferson Township Trustee Mary Johnson and neighbor Willie Belle Spear to nominate Back as a Dayton Daily News Unsung Hero. Without knowing she was being nominated, Back nominated another neighbor, Nettie Watson.
A year ago, Back, who is one of seven children, started a Neighborhood Watch program for the community, bringing together neighborhoods to work together, Johnson said.
Making her neighborhood safe
The impetus for starting the group came while Back and her husband were taking a walk and they came across a syringe on the ground.
“It really scared me, because I don’t have children but I have lots of nieces and nephews, and I just love people and when I saw that, it really scared me,” Back said. “I would have hated to see any child or anyone pick that up and be harmed.”
She looked online for information about how to start a Neighborhood Watch, printed some flyers and started pounding the pavement passing them out. At her first meeting, several people showed up and now Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies and township trustees are involved with the group. There usually are about 12 to 15 people at their monthly meetings.
Spear wrote in her nomination that she wanted to recognize Back for, “her thoughtfulness and vigilance in keeping our neighborhood safe.”
The group goes further than just focusing on crime and drugs, Back said. “We focus on doing things for the community.”
They helped St. Peter’s Church with a community day event and started a little flower garden around the Jefferson Township sign. The group is planning a community day for next year.
“We don’t want to focus on the negative but the positive,” Back said.
‘Watch out for one another’
One of the things Back focuses on is building community. “You have to watch out for one another,” she said.
There are elderly people in the community who need to be checked on and families who may be dealing with an illness who may need a helping hand. Watson is one of the people in the neighborhood watch group that has been helping checking on seniors, Back said. She goes to people’s homes, brings them food, provide cards to send to neighbors.
In her nomination of Watson, Back wrote, “When her neighbors are ill, she cooks meals for them and delivers them herself. Ms. Watson also sends cards and picks up small gifts to share with her neighbors. She cans and preserves food and always shares without reluctance and with a smile.
“She’s like one of the people that you would aspire to be like when you get older. I hope when I get older I can be like that. And vibrant. She gets out and walks…does everything. There’s always somebody we can look at try to emulate when we get older. There’s always room for improvement.”
Back, who works in quality improvement for Montgomery County, said her keys to building community include: speaking to people, smiling and letting barriers down. Community and relationship building are contagious, she said.
Personal connections
Technology, which has been a blessing in so many ways, also has the unfortunate consequence of disconnecting people, Back said. “Something as simple as just saying hello would make it a little bit warmer versus…everybody’s in there own world or on their own iPad or iPhone or have their headphones in.
“It’s all about how you go about it,” she said. “If you see somebody who is down, you can brighten them up just by letting them know you’re there or a simple touch or a joke or a smile. A smile is the biggest one. People think it’s odd when you speak to other people. That’s kind of backwards. They should think it’s odd to not speak to people.”
In her nomination of Back, Johnson said the reason the Neighborhood Watch group is so important is because those projects are the building blocks of community.
“When people know their neighbors, it is easier to organize around a purpose,” she wrote. “As friendships blossom, it is natural for people to move to the next step, planning events.” That opens up the community to meet each other. “The spirit of community just grows and grows. That’s why Ms. Back should be so honored because she made it happen in our township.”
Back’s kind words, “in welcoming everyone into the neighborhood organization; her kind deeds of inclusion encouraged everyone to voice their opinions; and the sharing in activities ultimately produced this lovely fruit called community,” Johnson said.
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