Key Findings After analyzing data from the Community Needs Assessment surveys and responses from the focus group questions the following information came out as more unusual and/or interesting. Although CAPECO may or may not provide services in some of the domains that the survey and focus group questions touch on, they still apply - in that community members and partners live and/or work locally and have these observations about their community’s ‘needs.’ Our endeavor here, is to highlight domains where the qualitative and quantitative data portray an obvious or major community need along with strengths, challenges, and concerns. Gilliam County The top three household needs for community members, in the past year, were financial assistance, dental care, and heating/utility assistance. There is interest in financial literacy education in Gilliam County. Healthcare for vision, dental and ongoing or chronic conditions seem to be difficult to access. Over half of the respondents said there are no opportunities for children and youth in their community and more than two thirds said there are no opportunities for senior citizens to socialize or didn’t know if there were. Over one third said affordable and adequate childcare is absent in the community. Rent assistance and improve public transportation were the top two services most needed in housing and transportation, respectively. Community partners feel the two most challenging issues for low-income households in the next three years include safe, affordable housing and lack of quality childcare. They also state that knowing the people in their community and their community partnerships are their greatest strengths. They feel the greatest challenges are self-reliance, lack of available services within the county and the large geographic area. Overall, they would like to see investments for affordable quality childcare and housing. In addition, they would like to see higher wages and more opportunities for low-income housing. They state it is important that all partners are asked to provide input on projects in the community and help each other spread information about available services and opportunities. Hood River County For community members the top two household needs in the past year were mental health services and planning for the future / goal setting. They have an interest in financial literacy education and say the hardest to access services are healthcare services for dental and mental health. More than half of the respondents said there are no affordable childcare options and not enough opportunities for children and youth in the county, or they didn’t know. More than half of the Hood River County survey respondents said they didn’t know if there are any socialization opportunities for senior citizens in their area. Rent assistance is the top housing service most needed in the community while improve public transportation was the top transportation service most needed. Community partners acknowledge that knowing the people in their community and their community partnerships are their greatest strengths. Three major challenges were brought up that include transportation around the large geographic area, resistance to change and participation from community members, and not enough available housing for low-income individuals. Community partners in Hood River County would like to be given a voice on issues such as housing, higher wages, and health care. In addition, they would like to see more funding to provide services for houseless individuals and families and feel that CAPECO | Community Needs Assessment Report | 2021 13
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