By illustrating an outreach flier with her picture and information about when and why she’d soon be doorknocking, Lisa Mills, an Anchorage Neighborhood Housing Services community organizer, was highly successful in her initial outreach work to more than 75 residents in the city’s Mountain View community. Residents were receptive to Mills’ house visits, and, through their one-on-one contact, have begun to get involved.

Anchorage Neighborhood Housing Services (ANHS) was founded in 1981 by a partnership of Spenard neighborhood residents, business leaders, and government officials. Initially the organization set out to revitalize the residential and commercial districts of the Spenard neighborhood, but it has since moved on to target resources in four additional neighborhoods and provide some housing services throughout Anchorage, population 260,000.
 
Today, with its sister multifamily management organization, Anchorage Mutual Housing Association, ANHS provides a continuum of housing services for all phases of affordable shelter needs from individuals and families at risk of homelessness, to those who require affordable apartment rental, to lower-income people ready for homeownership.
 
In April 2004, when Anchorage NHS hired Lisa Mills, she strategically thought about how to engage residents in the Mountain View neighborhood. The Mountain View community is an extremely diverse area. The Anchorage School District reports there are 46 different first languages spoken by the students in Mountain View’s schools. The bilingual program of one school, for example, concentrates on 12 languages. In the last two years, a large number of Hmong and Laotian families have moved into the area.
 
As a first step, Mills looked at a map of the community and marked 20 target blocks to which she wanted to outreach. She wanted to let residents know that she would be coming so she wouldn’t be confused with other solicitors.
 
Mills had seen a flier created by block captains in Battle Creek, Michigan, on which they had put their pictures, so residents would know who they were. She thought the same approach might work well in Mountain View and created what she called a “prelude flier” to let people know who she was and when she would visit.
 
The prelude flier is just one tool of many. It allows Mills to meet residents more easily and begin to build relationships. From those visits, she has been able to begin identifying issues and potential leaders.

Flier Creation.  Mills had her picture taken on an office digital camera and inserted it on the top of the document. She then added text, which included an introduction, information about when she would be doorknocking, and an explanation about why she wanted to visit. She included a few key questions about issue identification to get residents thinking about community issues before she arrived.

Outreach.  To start, Mills decided to concentrate on three blocks and figured that most people would be home after work. She dropped off the fliers during the day, a few days in advance of her visit. At the designated time, Mills knocked on doors and began one-on-one conversations with residents. People seemed much more receptive to inviting Mills into their homes because they had gotten advanced notice of her visit. From those initial visits, Mills has been able to begin identifying resident leaders and possible projects.

Costs and Sources.  The costs for the flier were minimal. Mills utilized an in-house digital camera and printed the fliers herself.

• Because Mills had put her face on the flier and been specific about when and why she was visiting, residents were very welcoming. They knew to expect her and why she was coming. This was particularly important for the many immigrants in the community, who may have been frightened by an unknown person knocking on their door. There also are many elderly people in the neighborhood, with a long history of people taking advantage of them. Instead of being afraid, many residents opened the door by saying, “Lisa, we were expecting you.”
   
• During the first round of door knocking, Mills was able to identify her first block captain. This resident had a strong interest in putting large reflective numbers on the houses on her block for police and fire to utilize in an emergency. This concern was enough to get the resident involved.
   
• This family also became the first to utilize Anchorage NHS’s WRAP program – a weatherization project partially funded by the Ford Foundation. Mills got the family connected to the appropriate NHS staff person. The program’s kick-off ceremony, including politicians and the press, was held at the resident’s house. For the event, the resident proudly made a sign for her front window that said, “Block Captain.”

Make sure your flier is not too wordy. It is important to limit the amount of text so people will actually read it. Do include the day and time you will be doorknocking, so people will know when to expect you. Keep other text to a minimum.
 
Don’t underestimate the number of houses you can cover. Mills concentrated on three blocks when she first mailed out the flier. She felt later she could have done more, and will do so in the future.
 
When you go doorknocking, go with someone. It is safer and much more fun. Whenever possible, get a resident to go doorknocking with you.
 
Experiment with the times you go doorknocking. Through trial and error, you will discover the best time to catch residents at home. Mills learned that after 5 p.m., when people were home from work, was a good time in her target area.

Agency interview with: Lisa Mills 12/04