Linda - you raise a wonderful question regarding the balance between openness and inclusiveness and personal safety. Indeed, why would you want to have your name and contact information out there in the hands of people who you don't know yet? How would you get to know new neighbors? If you've met them, how do you decide whether they are people you'd want to be closer to? How close? These are important questions.

Most likely you'd want anyone sharing this roster's information to be someone who shows up for Block Watch meetings. Then, at least, you know their faces and that they participate in block activities - both good clues to trustworthiness.

I'm assuming the invitations to ongoing meetings are extended to all houses, but I could be mistaken. If so, how will you ever meet "newbies?" If not, is it because these meetings are held in peoples' homes and the same reluctance you expressed exists? You might try holding your next meeting in a more neutral space. Decide that someone will "shadow" anyone new, become their guide for the first meeting. It's possible that an established group could intimidate someone new and they'd welcome special attention.

You suggested one approach tried: "one neighbor and I organized a potluck to introduce her neighborhood friends to my neighborhood friends, but it was all by invitation." This seems like a terrific idea, while leaving me wondering whether you're part of a very big block. Perhaps a useful ideas is to start where you did, then reconvene every few months, inviting people who came to the first potluck to bring a neighbor who wasn't formerly included. Perhaps the folks you don't know personally know are known to and liked by someone elsle. You might try it.

A Block Watch roster is better the more complete it can be. Right? You'd want to know who was inside any house that caught on fire, wouldn't you, not just those of friends? Possibly there are two rosters, one listing addresses and inhabitants for all, the other with phone numbers and email information. Is this feasible? Start with defining what you want from this group. Ideas originating from groups are often really helpful and group IQ can be amazing.

At Personal Safety Nets we advocate for being careful to take care of yourself. If your intuition and information suggests caution, heed this! At the same time, please allow for new information to come through. Often it's the input from a new source, different in assumptions and history from our own, that proves valuable in a situation - a neighborhood crisis or earthquake for instance.