Mayor Mike Duggan

BLOCK CLUB

TRAINING

What is a Block Club?

A block club is composed of neighbors that come together to discuss the conditions of the block and potential problem areas.

It is also an opportunity to develop relationships and hold social events.

Other purposes of block clubs include neighborhood safety and problem solving.

How can forming a block

club help you? Improve the physical and safety environment of the neighborhood

Eliminate negative influences in the neighborhood

Improve health, safety, physical, and economic standards of residents,

through work with government departments and other agencies

Develop a spirit of cooperation and social interaction amongst residents

Knowing your neighbors and creating a sense of community

How to Form A Block Club

It only takes two or more people.

Organize a way to contact other people on the block

You can set up communication channels such as posters,

flyers, and announcements in the community or church

newspapers.

First block club meeting, personal contact is best.

Only a few dedicated people are needed to get your

group started. Make decisions on where to start.

Contact your District Manager to acquire a block club

application and register with the City of Detroit

Do we need a name for our block club?

A name will give your block club a presence.

It can be as simple as naming it after your street, or a

more creative name can be decided upon.

Strategies to deal with challenging

neighbors & attitudes

In the process of inviting your neighbors to your first Block Club meeting, it might be possible that one or two of your neighbors will respond negatively to the idea.

Don’t be discouraged and don’t take it personally! They just need a little more convincing about the benefits of neighbors coming together as a group.

These are some responses that you could use to address a less than enthusiastic response to the idea of a neighborhood block club.

Comments /Typical Responses Their comment: “Organizing a Block Club? That’s a great idea, but it’ll never work

in this neighborhood. The neighbors don’t even know each other.”

Your response: “That’s the problem and a Block Club is the solution! How can you solve problems if you don’t know your neighbors well enough to work together on issues that affect all of us in the neighborhood?”

Their comment: “I don’t want to get involved and be a nosy neighbor.”

Your response: “Many people have discovered that getting involved doesn’t mean being nosy; it means being concerned for your neighbors and your neighborhood.”

Their comment: “We don’t have any crime in our area. This is a nice, quiet neighborhood.”

Your response: “Organizing a Block Club can keep it that way. A close knit neighborhood is a safe neighborhood. It can be helpful in addressing other neighborhood concerns as well.”

Their comment: “We will always have crime in our neighborhood. There is nothing we can do about it.”

Your response: “We will always have crime but a Block Club brings people together so that we don’t feel alone when bad things happen. Together we can work on these problems and together we share our concerns as one voice with the police or elected officials.”

Their comment: “I just don’t have time to be involved.”

Your response: “We do not need to meet very often…just once a month…in order to be effective as a group. These meetings will only last 1 to 1½ hours.”

What kinds of projects can be

done by the block club?

Projects can include (but are not

limited to):

Compiling a contact list of

residents and owners on the

block; cleaning up a problem

property

Creating a community garden

or flower garden

Having a block picnic for

residents

Delivering newsletters and

other information

Having the police or guest

speaker meet with your block

club

Where to Start

The actual boundaries of the organization could possibly be only half of a block, one side of the block, both sides of the street facing each other, both sides facing the alley, or even a single apartment building.

The boundaries will depend on such factors as how large is the block, the population density, size of available meeting places, and the nature of the problems in the neighborhood.

For example, if your problems center on alley up-keep, you might want to organize residents on both sides of the alley.

The group should be large enough to tackle your problems with some assurance of success, but not so large that there is little chance for people to get to know one another, let alone trade ideas.

Where to Start Contd.

Once you decide the boundaries, you should proceed to contact everyone who lives in those boundaries including, owners, renters, newcomers and seniors.

Send out a letter to residents stating the agreed upon block standards

All the residents will depend on each other for the enforcement of these standards.

For example, even those persons who don’t comply with such things as cutting their grass, putting trash in the proper storage containers or keeping up the exterior of their property should be contacted to participate.

Only by getting everyone to cooperate can others be influenced and persuaded to conform to the wishes of the rest of the neighbors.

Where to Meet

Local Church

Resident’s Back Yard

Recreation Center

East Side Community

Network

The First Meeting

Come up with a temporary President to run the 1st Meeting

Set an Agenda

Invite a speaker from an already established and successful neighborhood organization to describe how their group got started and some of the possibilities for your group.

Elect officers (usually a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer) for a temporary period, such as three months.

Appoint temporary special committees such as: Constitution and by-laws committee, membership committee, complaint/investigation committee, etc.

Set a time and place for the next meeting. Notification of members is usually the responsibility of the Secretary.

Responsibility of a Block Club

Captain/Co-Captains The Block Club Captain is the club’s link

to law enforcement.

Responsible for coordinating information with the police and the community Liaison Officer as well as information to be distributed to the club members.

Developing a phone tree and a neighborhood map as well as organizing and planning future meetings.

This may include getting a speaker to attend a meeting and give a presentation on a topic pertinent to your community.

Oversee the planning of Block Club events.

Encourage all neighbors to be alert in the neighborhood and report suspicious behavior.

Fun Community Building

Activities Movie or card party night

Kids parties or activities

Create a neighborhood newsletter

Citizen patrols on Halloween

Specially designed outreach to address a crime issue and measure community response

Exchange of services-babysitting, fix-ups, snow shoveling, etc.

•Block Parties

Guest speakers-police officer, locksmith, council member, etc.

Crime Prevention Through landscaping or exterior home improvement

Neighborhood flower planting or vacant lot improvement

Cleanups that include not only debris but graffiti, alleys, leaf raking, lawn mow•

Walking Block Meetings or a “Walk Against Violence”

Problem Solving Strategies

The practice of solving neighborhood issues and concerns is the responsibility of all involved within the Block Club. No one person should take it upon himself/herself to resolve all issues all the time. This is a team concept, use the entire team. The following are useful steps that could assist in resolving a problem.

1. Identify concerns

2. Prioritize

3. Recognize underlying causes

4. Create a plan

5. Act upon decisions

6. Evaluate results