Meeting People Where They Are: Engaging Public Housing Residents for Integrated Pest Management

In a unique partnership, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), Boston University School of Public Health, the Committee for Boston Public Housing, and the West Broadway Task Force (WBTF) led an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) intervention in Boston’s public housing developments. Key to the success of the program was recruiting residents to participate. Residents who were trained as Community Health Advocates (CHAs) at the West Broadway Development in South Boston, Massachusetts, recruited over 300 homes to participate in the IPM intervention (out of 484 living units). This article describes the recruitment strategy and success from the perspective of CHAs at the West Broadway development.