Join Our List
 |
|
|
| Vol. XI, Issue 2 | March 2011 |
|
Attend the Community Indicators Consortium (CIC) Conference
from Your Laptop, April 11th-15th
|
Please join me at the upcoming Community Indicator Consortium (CIC) Conference from the comfort of your office or home. The conference starts on April 11th and it's entirely on-line this year, so you can participate without
 leaving your computer (saving you lots of travel expenses)!
The conference highlights the latest trends in community research, how to put neighborhood indicators into action, regional sustainability, and global best practices in community indicator projects.
There are some marvelous plenary speakers this year including:
- Robert Groves, the Director of the Census Bureau
- Bernice Steinhardt from the General Accountability Office
- Angela Glover Blackwell from PolicyLink
- Todd Park from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
See the eConference overview and visit the eConference web site to register and view the full program. When you sign up for the conference, you get free membership in the CIC, and three months of access to all the conference activities, workshops and presentations.
I hope to see you on-line at the conference!
 | |
President,
Applied Survey Research |
|
| The First Silicon Valley Latino Report Card Showed Very High Rates of Latinos Working, but Low Levels of Income | 
There was a landmark event in Silicon Valley last week. The first Latino Report Card for the region, created from data collected by ASR, was unveiled before a crowd of over 300 people and several media outlets. Ron Gonzales, the former Mayor of the City of San Jose and current president and CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, compared it to a report card that a child might get in elementary school. "If it was my report card, I'd hide it from my parents," said Mr. Gonzales, referring to the troubling findings about the quality of life for Latinos in the area.
The Latino Report Card gave grades in five major subjects. Latinos were faring the best in terms of health with a "B" grade, but education and environmental sustainability got "C" grades, while financial stability and housing got "D" grades.
Within the area of education, one of the best grades of "B" went to very young Latino children in terms of their readiness for kindergarten. Between 2005 and 2008, kindergarten readiness for Latino children in Santa Clara County went up nearly 3%. However, Silicon Valley Latinos got a "D" for college readiness. In 2009, only 1 in 4 Latino high school graduates had completed the necessary coursework to attend a state college or university.
Latinos in Silicon Valley had a higher rate of working as compared to non-Latinos (73% as compared to 67% in 2009), but they earned far less than their non-Latino peers. Latinos earned a median household income of $59,162 as compared to $93,797 for non-Latinos in 2009.
The event was covered by KCBS Radio news, KNTV (NBC) news, Telemundo, and an editorial by Ron Gonzales and Manuel Pastor appeared in the San Jose Mercury News. For news reports, please click here.
To see the actual report, please click here. For more information, or to conduct a Latino Report Card in your area, please contact Lisa Colvig-Amir, Director of Evaluation, at 408-247-8319.
|
|
Homeless Individuals Get Connected
| 
Robert had been homeless and out of work. But last year, he attended an event known as Project Homeless Connect in Santa Cruz County, where he was assisted in finding a job. Now, a year later, he's working 3 jobs and at this year's Project Homeless Connect event, he was a volunteer, rather than a client.
Applied Survey Research is proud to be a co-sponsor with the United Way of Santa Cruz County of Project Homeless Connect. On March 22nd, nearly 1,000 homeless individuals and families went to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium looking for a job, housing, medical care, dental care, clothing vouchers, and eye glasses. On that one day there were over 40 services available to the homeless individuals and families. The event started in San Francisco in 2004 under the direction of then-Mayor Gavin Newsom and now the idea has spread to 220 cities. The project takes place on one day, but the supports may last far beyond that one event, such as finding permanent housing, getting medical and dental problems diagnosed and treated, and getting an identification card from the DMV then facilitates finding work and shelter.
 Over 400 volunteers came to the Civic Auditorium to lend a helping hand to the homeless. Homeless individuals were led through a process of prioritizing their needs, and then they were paired with a volunteer to help them access the services they were seeking. Dental care, glasses, and clothing vouchers were among the most necessary services. According to Samantha Green, one of the project's leaders, and ASR Research Analyst, "Homeless individuals got some of the help that they desperately needed, and everyone was transformed by the event. Some of the volunteers seemed cautious when we started at 10 am, but by 11 am, they were arm and arm with clients, smiling and laughing."
Susan Brutschy, President of ASR, welcomed homeless individuals and families to the event as they came in the door and she directed them towards volunteers and service providers who were waiting at the ready to offer assistance. Reflecting on the day, she said, "We saw a lot of heart here today." As one homeless individual left the event he said, "I can't wait to come back next year as a volunteer, not as a client."
For more information, please visit the Project Homeless Connect website at: http://www.phc-santacruz.org/ or contact Samantha Green, 831-728-1356.
|
|
Contact Us
Let us help you to collect information about your programs and your community in order to sustain your work during these tough economic times. We can also help you to analyze the data that you already have! Call us in our Watsonville office at 831-728-1356 or in our San Jose office at 408-247-8319.
|
|
|
