Valley Residents Urged to Answer the Phone for Largest-Ever Town-Level Survey on Quality of Life and COVID-19 Recovery

Valley residents are once again being asked to pick up the phone as regional data collection efforts are currently underway to develop the 2021 Community Wellbeing Survey – the fifth such survey DataHaven has fielded since 2012. Survey takers from Siena College Research Institute will be calling the mobile phones of area residents through this fall to learn more about individual needs, happiness, and neighborhood-level quality of life.

Thousands of randomly selected residents will be asked questions that will be used to better understand wellbeing in the Valley and throughout the state. More than 75 leading foundations, hospitals, and local agencies are assisting DataHaven with this effort.

Sample questions include:

• How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your health and financial well-being?
• Are the parks in your neighborhood in good condition?
• What has been your experience with telehealth appointments over the past year?
• What is your life like today and what do you think it will be like in five years?

“During a time when we are all emerging from fundamental shifts in daily life following COVID-19, there has never been a more critical time to ask ‘how is our community really doing?’” says Sharon Closius, Valley Community Foundation President & CEO. “The more we understand our region, the better we are able to engage in meaningful dialogues and work towards actionable solutions. As with earlier years, we look forward to working with DataHaven alongside our community partners to produce a single-source report that has a history of driving decision-making in the region.”

"Our experience is that people enjoy answering the questions in this survey," says Mark Abraham, Executive Director of DataHaven, a 25-year-old nonprofit organization that leads the collection and study of public data about Connecticut. "They are sharing their knowledge about how their families and communities have been faring during the past year, and about their own life experiences. These questions show that we care about how they feel, and create important indicators that will inform how Connecticut recovers from COVID-19."

The wellbeing survey findings will be used in part to produce the 2022 Valley Community Index. Created in partnership with DataHaven, this single-source report will provide timely, comprehensive socioeconomic, education, health and wellbeing data that continues to shape the region. The Index meets Griffin Hospital’s IRS requirements in Form 990 Schedule H and Notice 2011-52 that discuss the creation of a Community Health Needs Assessment, which all tax-exempt hospitals complete as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It also fulfills Naugatuck Valley Health District’s requirement for a Community Health Assessment as part of its national accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board. The Index serves as a foundation for the Valley Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), a requirement for both Griffin Hospital and NVHD. A new Community Index is released every three years.

The Valley Community Indices for 2016 and 2019, along with their respective executive summaries, can be viewed on the Valley Community Foundation’s website.

About The Valley Community Foundation

Established in 2004, the Valley Community Foundation distributes over $1.9 million in grants each year to support the local nonprofit sector and the people it serves. In addition to grantmaking, VCF works in strong partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (TCF), to promote philanthropy in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton and receives funding from The Gates Fund and other preference funds at TCF that benefit the Valley. For more information, visit www.valleyfoundation.org.

About DataHaven

DataHaven is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization with a 25-year history of public service to Connecticut. Since 1992, DataHaven has worked with area organizations and agencies to develop reports and tools that make information more useful to the community. DataHaven maintains extensive economic, social, and health data, including information collected through its Community Wellbeing Survey and other programs. DataHaven is a formal partner of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, a collaborative national effort by the Urban Institute and approximately 40 local partners to further the development and use of neighborhood information systems in local policymaking and community building. For more information, visit www.ctdatahaven.org.