Michelle Holmes: Neighourhood revitalization through volunteerism

Michelle Holmes recalls the economic downturn of the mid-2000s as a particularly difficult time in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was a time that saw the city struggling to help families who were literally abandoning their homes.

However, a program launched to help fix the problem worked out better than expected and today has seen whole neighbourhoods – and many individual lives – transformed on a regular basis.

Operation Fix It’s Award Winning Engagement

Holmes, City of Scottsdale program manager, represented her community at the Alliance for Innovation’s 2019 Transforming Local Government Conference, in Reno, Nevada, where she picked up an Outstanding Achievement Award for the Operation Fix It initiative.

Afterward, she sat down with Municipal World CEO Susan Gardner to discuss how the program is engaging the public and transforming neighbourhoods across the community.

“At that time, when we first started the program, we had so many people that were walking away from their homes; foreclosures were just rampant,” Holmes said. “ The only way code enforcement could really fix those problems … was this abatement process we had. The abatement process was pretty ugly; it didn’t actually help the person; it actually just compounded their problems,” Holmes said.

Creating Lasting Community Impact

A decade ago, the city was undertaking about 126 abatements in a year. Thanks to Operation Fix It, Holmes said, that number is down to about three a year – an approximately 97 percent reduction.

“Solicitation letters were sent out to the community members saying people need help,” she added. “The response was outstanding … it was neighbours helping neighbours to make our community beautiful again.”

The impact, Holmes said, has been transformational. The problem, she explains, was “the broken window effect.” Essentially, it is a situation where if problems at one property aren’t corrected, then neighbours are often less likely to fix up their own.

“Now, it is just the opposite,” Holmes said. “Particularly when we fix up what was the worst property on the street. Now it is one of the best, people really focus on what they have to do. It is that positive ripple effect through the community.”  MW

✯ Municipal World Insider and Executive Members: You might also be interested in Sam Laban’s article: TLG event showcases diverse economy of Northern Nevada. Note that you can now access the complete collection of past articles (and more) from your membership dashboard.