The Violence Prevention Center continues to gather community input on the services it offers. Working on the center’s needs assessment are (L-R) Program Advocate Lucy Perpich, Director Jodi Yuhasey, and chair of the VPC program committee Judy Siegel.
Earlier this year the Violence Prevention Center (VPC) began a community needs assessment. The purpose is to evaluate services to anyone affected by violence. VPC also wanted to address services needed that are not in the organization’s mission but are highly desired by the community to ensure that Cook County residents are safe and thriving.
“We want to collaborate with other agencies and organizations to make our total goal of safety possible and effective. While we are already seasoned collaborators with a healthy network, it was important to us to review and improve those relationships and our own services,” explained Judy Siegel, chair of the VPC program committee who is working on the needs assessment.
The needs assessment project has been divided into three phases and is expected to be completed early next year. Phase One was the initial evaluation from people who have used VPC’s services. It was completed as anonymously as clients wanted it to be. Participants rated satisfaction with services on a numerical scale.
Phase Two was an assessment of the system providers. Between 25 and 30 organizations and community agencies were asked a specific set of in-depth questions. The information gathered from the interviewees was compiled to reveal patterns and trends.
“The raw data collected in the interviews gave VPC great insight into the perceived operations and services the VPC provides to the community,” said Siegel.
However, Siegel noted, the data is qualitative in nature, meaning that there is no way to measure it on a scale, so it is not suitable for publication at this time. The information from Phase Two was not meant to stand alone or to be interpreted by Cook County residents as definitive findings in the needs assessment. “It was treated as a the foundation for the development of the survey the community will be asked to partake in later this fall,” explained Siegel.
Recurring themes were discovered in the interviews, however. They were lack of services for perpetrators; lack of programs for boys; the need for early and ongoing curricula in schools; more information on what VPC does; and more information on safety and prevention of violence.
Phase Three of the project is to develop a set of questions and to invite the community to participate in the conversation. This phase is currently under way. Siegel said, “We hope that whatever methods are decided upon to reach you will be effective and you will feel welcomed to contribute thoughts and ideas. We really need this input and urge you to look for invitations in the near future.”
After the data is compiled and a course of action is determined, the results will be made public. “Our plan throughout this process is to keep the community involved as much as possible,” said Siegel. “We thank the countless number of people who have graciously given their time and energy to this important project.”
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