Introduction:

1. Introduction: Purpose, Methods, & Appendix Organization N E E D S ASSESSMENT • The purpose of this Appendix to the State of the Community Report is to present county residents’ and community leaders’ perceptions about: • What are the major issues facing this county? • How adequate are the current services and/or resources available to address these issues? • What are the existing assets we have to build upon? • This Appendix is is part of a larger report which includes an executive summary; a profile of Washtenaw County; county indicators presenting data related to the quality of life; and a review of existing reports. • Three surveys were designed and implemented to collect data. They included: • A telephone survey of 402 county residents, conducted by Wayne State University’s Center for Urban Studies. A statistically representative random sample of the community was surveyed. • A written survey conducted by FERA to obtain input from residents who were likely to be systematically excluded from the telephone survey (e.g., individuals who are homeless, low income and youth who are likely to have cell phones, no land line, or no phone at all). The surveys were distributed through community nonprofits serving these residents and used the same questions as did the telephone survey. A total of 65 residents responded to this survey. • An online survey of community leaders conducted by FERA. Nonprofit, Business, Educational, and Political leaders were included. A total of 185 leaders responded to this survey. A summary of the data gathered can be accessed on the Washtenaw United Way website, at http://ccwc.ewashtenaw.org Purpose: Methods:

2. Introduction: Purpose, Methods, & Appendix Organization (continued) SURVEY RESULTS Appendix A presents a summary of respondent demographics and then is divided into five categories: Community and Economic Development, Health, Education, Environment, and Community Connection. Each category has sub-areas and presents a table for each of the sub-areas. For example, Housing and Poverty is a sub-area under Community and Economic Development. The table includes issues of: (a) affordable housing, (b) homelessness, (c) poverty, and (d) hunger. The table presents the percent of survey respondents who identified affordable housing as a “major” or “minor” issue or as “not an issue.” It also details the percent of respondents who thought that the resources available to address that issue were “adequate,” “somewhat adequate,” or “not adequate.” Data from the three surveys are presented separately, allowing for differences in perceptions to be seen. Community and nonprofit leaders’ views of our county’s top three issues are also presented, as are their views about barriers to improving the quality of life county-wide and successful or innovative things that are happening in Washtenaw County. A discussion of what the survey results tell us and whether they fit with data found in the indicators can be found in the body of the main report. Note: community residents who responded to the telephone survey will be referred to as residents (telephone), while the group that responded in writing will be referred to as residents (written). Section Organization: