How Do You Feel About Your Community?

Prevention Council Hopes Survey

Will Lead To Better Local Services

By Kendra Bobowick

Arriving next week in the mail to every registered voter will be a community survey. The survey will be asking if residents are very, somewhat, or not at all concerned about topics such as drug abuse, education quality, or if high levels of stress, for example, exist in the community.

The poll may uncover the “not talked about at all” secrets, said Drug Free Community Project Coordinator Anita Mackey, who is with Newtown Youth Services. For example, “Sometimes senior adults use alcohol to ease loneliness,” she said.

As residents open their mail, they will find a regular envelope with an additional return envelope, she explained. On behalf of the Newtown Prevention Council, the questionnaire asks residents to “take a few minutes,” to complete the survey, which helps the council, “assess the need for additional services or access to services…”

Another series of questions asks if residents strongly agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with questions ranging from, “is the community safe” to “people in my community can be trusted.”

Certain sections ask readers to “rate the need for” various programs and services, their likelihood to support certain activities, and assess their feelings of whether certain things are a problem.

Mackey, among others, is relying on responses to this initiative.

“We really want to know if there are problems because part of the needs assessment is to identify gaps in service and learn how to fill them,” she said.

The data is necessary, she feels. “It tells us what we need to work on.”

By the end of this week the mail will be flooded with the community survey — a piece of the Drug Free Community federal grant that will fulfill the required needs assessment.

The statistics are indicators she and others use to pinpoint community needs, she said.

Ms Mackey believes the upcoming community survey, which is aimed at adults, should be in mailboxes early next week. For those interested in reviewing and possibly completing the survey online may visit www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=510902187966.

An earlier round of surveys aimed at the town’s youth caused concern, and also helped indicate where efforts may pay off in the future.

Already filled out, returned, and assessed, data reveals that the percentage of youth who have tried inhalants have doubled in just three years — that 6 percent of the grades 7 12 age group in 2002 doubled to a count of 12 percent in 2005.

Finding a way to “keep them away [from substances] and to keep the kids busy elsewhere,” is an option.

Again remarking on the anonymous statistics, she said it indicated if “they are using alcohol regularly, doing drugs; it tells us if it’s once in a great while or regularly.”

Appealing to residents to fill out the paperwork, she said, “It is totally anonymous…people should feel free to answer truthfully.”

Only one personal item occurs in the survey, which she warns is not meant to reveal identity.

“We ask only where children go to elementary school to help us see if we get returns from all parts of town,” she said.

Again using the children’s survey as an example, Ms Mackey said the questions asked them about their use of alcohol and other substances, it also asked how they spend their spare time, how well they communicate with their family and their peers.

Questions inquired about how the children felt about themselves and how they feel about their relationships with family and friends, she said.

The survey helped indicate if the youth feel there are enough summer activities, for example.

Also the results help answer, “Do we need more child care and looks at activities for after school and summer time for school-age youth.”

This upcoming adult community survey also is aimed at revealing, “what we need to work on,” she said. Contact Anita Mackey at the Youth Services office with questions at 270-4335.