Community survey starts this week
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 25, 2017 9:49 AM
Goldsboro Family YMCA invites residents to weigh in on what the most pressing issues are in Wayne County.
The Online Community Needs Assessment Survey starts this week and runs through May 22. It features multiple choice and opinion questions related to adults and youth, healthy living and social responsibility.
The surveys are confidential and will be used to design and deliver programs, says project coordinator Kriquette Davis, associate executive director of the Y.
"We did a strategic plan about two years ago," she said. "Part of it is doing a community assessment for our capital campaign.
"It's going to go out to our members but we're also tapping as many resources as we can in the community to get it out as well because we need to hear from the community about what they think the needs are."
The local YMCA is working with YMCA of the USA, its national office, on the assessment.
The goal is to elicit at least 1,000 responses that will be representative of the county, Mrs. Davis said.
"We'll be able to know what kind of response we're getting back and if we're not getting responses from some of the places that we need responses from," she said. "We just think it's important to hear from everybody."
Question topics include ranking the availability of services and volunteer opportunities, the presence of safe and secure programs and community spaces where adults can develop connections with others, and whether there is access to structured activities in the community. Similar versions of the questions are also included for teens.
The survey also focuses on younger children -- asking about local opportunities for youth to build good character and the availability of non-athletic programs that draw out skills, creativity and confidence and whether children entering kindergarten are prepared for success.
"I feel like they're very good questions," Mrs. Davis said.
The survey is designed to be inclusive of all demographics from the county, in order to get "a good pulse" of the community being served, she said.
Results will be compiled into a summary that will be shared with the YMCA and its partnerships.
They will be used in planning for future programs.
"We've got so many really great collaborative efforts going on," Mrs. Davis said. "What we'll do is look at the results and see what's most needed and what we can collaborate on, and then what we think we can do as far as the YMCA in accommodating some of that stuff."
In addition to making the Y more visible to residents in Wayne County, she said the community needs assessment is a more intentional strategy toward having a better impact on lives.
The survey is offered both online and through social media.
The link can be found at http://surveys.ymcaexchange.org/f/179884/1451/.
It is available in English and Spanish.
For those without access to a computer or preferring a printed copy, some will be made available at the YMCA.
For more information, contact Mrs. Davis at 919-778-8557 or e-mail [email protected].