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Community organizer presents ‘8 Front Door’ neighbor challenge to strengthen blocks
Summary
A presenter from the Community Health Council outlined an '8 Front Door' neighboring program adapted from Wichita that pays community animators to help neighbors meet and document local assets; flyers and bilingual guides will be shared and staff offered help with language access and QR-code assistance.
Kimberly Roshe, who identified herself as a community organizer and a director at the Community Health Council, presented the '8 Front Door' neighbor challenge and invited residents to sign up for local cohorts.
Roshe said the program — adapted from a Wichita neighboring movement — offers a paid community-animator cohort in which participants spend roughly five hours a week for about 12–14 weeks knocking on doors, mapping assets and helping neighbors connect. "You'll get paid $18 an hour for 5 hours a week to get to know your neighbors," she said.
The presenter said the initiative includes low-barrier options such as yard signs that identify safe neighbors and small block gatherings. She described examples from pilot neighborhoods where neighbors checked on an elderly resident and helped with trash, and noted the program emphasizes asset-based community development so residents can identify and share skills such as teaching crafts or food preservation.
During a question-and-answer period, neighbors and organization representatives asked how to engage renters, how to work across language barriers and whether the program has tailored materials for youth engagement. Roshe said materials and a block map are available in English and Spanish and offered to connect attendees with community health workers who can accompany volunteers when language assistance is needed. "We have a good 10 different languages spoken in our office," she said.
Local partners at the meeting said they would help publicize the program and work with churches and neighborhood groups. Organizers left flyers and a link to the 8 Front Door guide and offered to deliver signs and printed step-by-step plans to neighborhood groups.
The presentation closed with organizers offering follow-up support for neighborhood groups and a commitment to provide printed and digital resources; attendees were invited to contact the presenter for more information and assistance with sign-up or QR-code help.
