Welcome to the online home of Neighborfest – The World’s Best Block Party!

One of the best things about living in a great neighborhood is getting to know the folks around you and building strong friendships.  In addition to feeling more connected, these relationships can be invaluable when the unexpected issue comes along.  From needing to borrow a cup of milk to having someone who can keep an eye on your home when you are on vacation, being surrounded by people you can trust can make a huge difference in your quality of life.

But these kind of relationships just don’t happen, one has to create opportunities to engage the folks on their block and spend time getting to know each other.  In many neighborhoods, the best way to do that is by hosting a block party.

The NEN’s Neighborfest Program builds on the popularity of block parties and folds in emergency readiness.  By hosting a Neighborfest, and following the steps outlined in the toolkit, hosts not only will host the best block party ever – but also acquire the skills and partnerships to help their neighbors when they’ll need it the most.

Don’t just take our word for it, check out this data:

To learn more about the power of the Neighborfest Program:

• Read the Report for the 2018 Neighborfest Program here…
• Read an article written by Prof. Daniel Aldrich, world renowned expert on community disaster resilience and NEN Director Daniel Homsey here…
• Download the 2019 Neighborfest Host Toolkit here…
• Listen to KQED discuss Heat Waves and the Neighborfest Program here…
• Review the sections below which provide deeper details about the program and its benefits to the community

Program Overview

The Neighborfest Program increases the capacity of neighborhood resident leaders to increase the overall level of cohesion among their immediate neighbors as well as advance their ability to support each others’ health and well-being during a disaster.

Program Impacts

• Strengthen the host’s capacity to organize a team at the block level that can mobilize and perform tasks such as mass feeding after a disaster
• Increases the level of social cohesion amongst residents
• Advances the overall resilience of the block with:
  • the implementation of an asset mapping exercise
  • the distribution of preparedness materials
  • the acquisition of a cache of disaster response supplies
• Improves the level of connection between the first responder community and residents

Program Benefits

• Residents/Hosts
  • Financial – Substantially reduces the cost for hosting the block party
  • Social – Increased connection among their surrounding neighbors
  • Capacity – Enhanced ability to organize teams of volunteers to design and implement a event
  • Disaster Readiness – Increased capacity to work together and support the vulnerable in their community
  • Equipment – The receive a cache of supplies they can us to help themselves before professional help arrives

• Stakeholder Organizations

• • Identification of, and streamlined access to, local leaders who can convene local residents
  • Distribution of communication materials to residents in a culturally competent environment
  • Increased connectivity levels at the community level that can be repurposed downstream for other engagement/outreach activities
  • A reduction in cost and staff time to organize and engage residents
  • Important face time with hard to reach constituents (i.e. mono lingual / senior & access and functional needs)

2018 Neighborfest Partners and Supporters