Remediating Blight using Community Engagement and Home Rehabilitation Contracts in Mesa, AZ

As part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities initiative, the GPL supported the City of Mesa, AZ in procuring for a partner organization to implement the Love Your Neighborhood (LYN) program, which is a community engagement and home rehabilitation initiative.

The Problem: The City of Mesa wanted to provide residents with resources and services to create sustainable improvements in a neighborhood that was particularly challenged with high instances of code violations, graffiti, police calls, and vacancies. The Department of Community Services launched the LYN program to help homeowners qualify for and implement home rehabilitation activities (funded by Community Development Block Grant dollars) and to engage residents with information and resources related to home and property maintenance. Initially, staff from the Department of Community Services piloted the LYN program and found that a third party partner was needed to deeply engage community members, identify homeowners to participate in the program, and carry out home rehabilitation projects. The City of Mesa issued an initial request for proposals (RFP) for a partner organization, but ultimately did not select a partner during that procurement process. The GPL supported Mesa in drafting and issuing a new RFP for a partner organization to implement the LYN program.

Read More