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Founded by Ridgewood resident Beth BaRoss in 2013, the service is intended to keep residents informed about what's going on with their home at all times. "Our service is important to owners or renters of houses, vacation and rental homes," she explained. "There is also a need for those who live on their own, particularly older persons."
With the service -- which costs $50 a year -- anyone, including emergency personnel responding to an event, can get a message through to the homeowner simply by calling A Watchful Neighbor. "We phone, text, and email the messages to you 24/7 365 days a year," said President and Founder BaRoss.
She said the idea started swirling around in her head many years ago when several things happened and she thought: “This poor person is going to come home to this problem. How can they know before they come home?” After a couple of years of planning, A Watchful Neighbor was launched and so far, has gotten a lot of positive feedback.
"People see the value in having A Watchful Neighbor service for their homes and vacation homes," she said. "In fact, people are surprised that someone didn’t think of the idea sooner."
The goal, stressed BaRoss, is to give homeowners peace of mind regarding their home.
"The neighbor that knows how to contact you may not be home to help when you need them," she said. "They vacation, work, shop and frequently leave their homes. With our service, you can be 'reached' without anyone knowing your personal contact information, and if an emergency does occur, anyone can let you know that 911 was called."
The company's mission is simple, she added: "To bring communities together by providing this new way for caring people to be able to help each other, while everyone still maintains their desired degree of privacy."
Though the company is based in Bergen County, it is a nationwide service available to homeowners anywhere in the U.S.
Go to www.AWatchfulNeighbor.com/ for more information.
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