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General Information
United Way of Greater Union County has retained Kean University and its Department of Sociology and Anthropology to conduct a 12-month long community wide needs assessment to identify the most pressing health and human service needs in the community. The United Way and other organizations - both public and private - will utilize the findings to help inform their policy and program design decisions. The needs assessment also serves as a report to the community in general on the state of health and human service needs and provides benchmarks from which to measure progress.
Partners
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Department of Human Services, United Way of Summit, Berkeley Heights and New Providence, Westfield United Way, Trinitas Hospital and Union County College are partners in this initiative, which is funded in part by a generous grant from Merck & Co., Inc.
Forums (Locations, dates & times)
A series of geographically-based community forums will take place during June. The public is invited to participate in the one which will serve their town. Please call the United Way at 908-353-7171 x103 for the date and an invitation to the Community Forum for your town.
More information
Dr. José Sánchez, the project's director and Chairperson of the department, comments that "the mission and vision of the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Kean University embody the principles of social justice and the goal of making our discipline a tool with which to address the needs of people in the county and its various communities. We strongly support and reflect Kean's institutional mission in our desire to improve the lives of those in need. Our faculty aims to develop students who have a commitment to democracy, a respect for diversity, and who are active and informed members of their communities, their societies, and their world. As such, we consider our mission to be a perfect match with those of United Way of Greater Union County and Kean University. Our department's faculty is excited about the opportunity to bring our expertise to bear to such a worthwhile and exciting project."
"The United Way of America in partnership with local United Way's has been moving to a new community impact model. The needs assessment lays the foundation for our future work," comments James W. Horne, Jr., United Way of Greater Union County CEO. "The transformation of the United Way around this new mission brings powerful and relevant solutions to the community."
The needs assessment will identify the scope and dimensions of Union County's needs, gaps, and assets. The final report will document key findings and recommendations, and will identify needs in areas affecting children, health, housing, immigration, literacy, mental health and unemployment, among others.
The needs assessment will employ a variety of data gathering methodologies including the analysis of existing (secondary) data, community forums, as well as mail and telephone surveys. These methodologies will be utilized to gather data on a cross- section of diverse participants.
For more information please contact Susan P. Coen
at 908-353-7171 x103 or susan.coen@uwguc.org.
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