How to become a block captain in Philly—and rock at it
How to Become a Block Helm—and Rock At it
Super denizen (and longtime block captain) Jen Devor shares hard-won tips on how to fill this crucial neighborhood role
How to Become a Block Captain—and Stone At information technology
Super citizen (and longtime block captain) Jen Devor shares difficult-won tips on how to fill this crucial neighborhood role
Aug. 05, 2021
Jen Devor has been a liaison between her neighbors and the City since she moved to Point Breeze in 2005.
An extrovert armed with a reckoner, Devor says her tech savvy reputation led her to become the "go-to" person for submitting 311 requests, applying for permits and navigating utility or structure problems on the street early on.
Only while she always loved helping her neighbors, she says she realized that accessing city services came with a lot of challenges. She had heard that blocks with a designated block helm had an easier fourth dimension accessing metropolis services and decided to utilize. Becoming a cake helm felt like a natural and necessary transition.
More than HELPFUL Expert-CITIZENSHIP Resource
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- Start a customs fridge to fight nutrient insecurity in your surface area
- Increase access to books past building a free library on your block
- Organize a street cleanup to keep your block looking spiffy
- Host a voter registration bulldoze to boost turnout in your community
Philadelphia'south block captain program operates under the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee (PMBC), an attempt to unite people with their neighbors, and "build a vision for a clean and beautiful block." Cake captains are unpaid positions that come up with the responsibilities of hosting parties, organizing trash cleanups and making (a lot of) telephone calls.
Devor, co-founder of community engagement nonprofit Better Civics (and an occasional Citizen contributor), says navigating urban center services remains difficult, even in her current position. But beingness able to centralize resources for her neighbors, and form relationships with people at the metropolis level, helps make the process run smoother.
Devor uses her position non only to connect neighbors with the urban center, merely with each other. While some tasks are heady and others are more tedious, she says she loves being the block captain in her customs, and feels that her work is appreciated.
Sound like something you'd be into? First, bank check to see if you already have a block captain—call 215-685-3971, or inquire your neighbors. If no one's doing the job yet here's how you can make it yours—and serve your neighbors well.
- Determine if you lot take what it takes
The cake captain program runs on neighborhood engagement—if you lot're not a people-person, it may not be for you lot.
"Information technology would exist unfortunate if somebody signed upwardly to be a block captain, and then just completely ghosted their neighbors," Devor says. If you experience confident y'all tin commit to talking to your neighbors, picking upward a phone and talking to the city, and so reporting dorsum, read on.
- Apply to be a block captain—here's how
Apply for a printable petition, hither, or telephone call (215) 685-3981 to have a petition sent via post. Once you have your petition, y'all will need to go the majority of the folks who alive on your block to sign it (at to the lowest degree 51 percent of households). If you're successful, mail it to the PMBC at 2601 W. Glenwood Ave. You should receive an official block captain carte du jour in the postal service once y'all're approved. That's it! At present you're a cake captain.
- Brand certain neighbors know who you are
Jen Devor and her girl Ava Devor—"#ane canvassing partner"
Devor carries a clipboard and (at times) business cards with her contact information and photograph. While she says she wouldn't typically put a photo on a business concern card, she likes the idea that her neighbors tin recognize her, particularly if they are new to the block.
Business cards don't demand to be in every block captain's tool box. Just make an effort to engage with your neighbors in-person and requite out your contact data through other methods—flyers, word of mouth, e-mail, etc,—to ensure you are reachable when needed.
- Choose your ain adventure
"In that location's not one unified job description for the block captain: Y'all're not being paid for information technology, y'all're non being graded on information technology." Devor says. "The beauty of information technology is that you can actually do what you want with it."
Think about how you desire to guide neighborhood interactions. What practise you enjoy? And what practise y'all and your neighbors savour doing together?
Maybe yous want to put a new spin on the yearly cake party, or start a mini block captain program to engage neighborhood kids. Maybe yous want to outset a little gratis library, or see if you are eligible for Playstreets. Spend some time finding out what the neighborhood wants and needs, then go to it.
- Facilitate advice among neighbors
As a cake captain, you can choose how to communicate with your neighbors. For instance, you could start a private Facebook page to post regular updates and provide a place where neighbors can engage with each other.
For neighbors who aren't tech savvy, Devor uses other methods. She knocks on doors, talks to people in the streets, and hands out flyers.
Run into what works on your block—a combination of digital and in-person outreach volition likely be most effective.
- Answer to neighbor complaints
"I similar to joke around that being a block helm is like, you're the complaints department," Devor says. "Anytime something is wrong, somebody comes to y'all."
"Complaints department" responsibilities tin can range from giving someone an email address to contact for a holding result, calling 311 on behalf of a neighbor, or standing outside waving a clipboard during a power outage, Devor says.
"Early on in my block captain run, all the power on our street went out," Devor says. "I get outside and all the neighbors are out in that location, and they're like Jen, Jen, nosotros were gonna come knock on your door! Are yous gonna call PECO? And I was like, This is amazing."
What followed was a block-wide hang out, with neighbors chatting with each other and bringing out water to trounce the summer heat, she adds. "We got through this minor crisis, only information technology set the tone for how we human activity as a block," Devor says. "Nosotros support each other."
Devor says she loves creative problem solving and fifty-fifty enjoys the challenge of battling bureaucracy—both crucial in being able to make stuff happen for your neighbors.
- Be a mouthpiece for your customs
A block helm should be able to advocate for, and connect, their neighbors to metropolis services. The extent to which you lot are involved in their needs, however, may depend on your neighbors' email or phone literacy.
Think about it on a case-by-case basis whether you need to attain out to the city on a neighbor's behalf, or but direct them to the correct phone number or email address. (Consider your own free energy levels and capacity, likewise.)
- Set up your own boundaries
Cake captains like Devor manage piece of work and family life outside of their neighborhood duties. In society to take care of yourself and proceed tasks in balance, it's crucial to set up boundaries, she says.
For instance, some people are nether the impression that the block captain is supposed to clean the block—by themselves.
"Information technology's my responsibility as a homeowner to clean my business firm and my street, and be an active member of my cake," Devor says. "Merely it's non like, Oh, you're cake helm, you have to sweep the block every week." Instead, facilitate group efforts by organizing block clean-ups with your neighbors.
You also may desire to limit the hours during which your neighbors can contact yous (if there'southward an emergency, they should be calling 911).
- Include everyone, really
A few years ago, Devor gathered signatures from her neighbors to use for permit parking on their street. She went door-to-door and talked to every neighbor. "Y'all tin can't say, I've talked to everyone on the block except for the two people that are renting, even if yous have enough signatures for a permit or talked to the more active neighbors," Devor says.
She heard both enthusiasm and hesitation, but in the terminate the majority signed in favor of applying for the permits, which they later secured. It was one of the biggest projects Devor led every bit block helm, she said.
"Y'all really have to talk to everybody, disperse information in an equal and fair way, and make certain that everyone feels like they have a piece of the pie," she says.
In a perfect earth, we'd all go along with our neighbors. But in reality, there are often a few people nosotros either don't know or don't similar. As a block captain, it'southward important to put these biases—even subconscious biases—aside and brand sure y'all are truly talking to everyone and considering all opinions.
- Know when to step down
Regardless of how much you lot dearest being a block captain, at some bespeak you'll probably need to step downwards. Maybe you lot no longer have the energy for the commitment, or maybe someone else has volunteered to take your place. Prepare for a transition past having open conversations with your neighbors well-nigh what they envision for the futurity of the block.
"[I'll serve] for equally long equally my block needs me to," Devor says. "Merely like any position in a commonwealth, if somebody else wanted to be block captain, I am more than open up to pass the torch."
Header image courtesy of Visit Philly 
Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/block-captain-philly/