Community Health - Neighborhood Safety Assessment

Community Health Task 1

Western Governors University

July 28th, 2019

Community Health Task 1

See attached photos

Needs Assessment:

Demographics

1. Population of Sentinel City- 663,862

2. Age Percentage breakdown of population of Sentinel City- Persons under 5 years 7.4%, Persons under 18 years 21.7%, persons 65 years and over 10.5%.

3. Race Percentage breakdown of population of Sentinel City- African American 10.4%, American Indian and Alaska Native 2.0%, Asian 3.7%, Native Hawaiian and Other specific Islander 0.2%, Two or more other races 3.1%, Hispanic or Latino 31.5%, White 52.7%

4. Median Household Income of Sentinel City- $49,091

5. Percentage of Sentinel City residents living below the poverty level- 18.9%

6. Population of each of the four neighborhoods:

Nightingale Square: __103,974____

Acer Tech Center: ___168,390_____

Casper Park District: __352,643____

Industrial Heights: ____38,855_____

7. Median Household Income of the four neighborhoods:

Nightingale Square: ___$269,550____

Acer Tech Center: ___$166,300______

Casper Park District: __$80,134_____

Industrial Heights: ___$24,672______

8. Percentage of uninsured residents in each of the four neighborhoods:

Nightingale Square: ___0.7%_______

Acer Tech Center: _____1.5%_______

Casper Park District: __22.7%_______

Industrial Heights: ___37.5%________

Neighborhood Safety Assessment

Describe any safety hazards seen (i.e. pollution, stray animals, buildings in disrepair, etc.)

Nightingale Square- There is trash and a stray cat located outside of Joe’s Grocery store. There are crates of trash and graffiti on some of the buildings

Acer Tech Center- Trash is piled up outside the Acer condominiums. The neighborhood is busy and there is a stray dog walking around the area.

Industrial Heights- There is trash all over the neighborhood, across the street from the school district and even the bodega market. The buildings are all old and some buildings are abandoned. There is graffiti all around the neighborhood on majority of the buildings. There is trash in the street and a rat running across the trash infested sidewalks and streets. There is a stray dog and homeless people in the neighborhood.

Casper Park District- Highly populated area with abandoned buildings that have graffiti. There is trash occupying the streets and sidewalks with a rat running around the trash. There is a stray dog. Criminal convicts completing a work release program. There are also homeless people on the streets.

Summarize data related to drug use in the city. - After visiting city hall it was discovered that one of the common arrests include controlled substance arrest. There are 16% of arrests made in Sentinel City as it pertains to possession or usage of a controlled substance. One of the most common complaints in the park include drugs and the percentage of complaints have fluctuated in numbers over the last 5 years ranging from 10 - 25% but just last year the numbers were on the lower side at 10%.

What are the EMS response times?

The EMS response times include a fire response team, EMS response team , advanced life support and shock time. In Sentinel City, the fire response time average is 6.33 minutes, the EMS response team response time is averaging 7.46 minutes, the advanced life support team is averaging 7.54 minutes, and the shock time is averaging 6.37 minutes (SC, 2018).

What types of crime are occurring in the area?

There are a variety of crimes occurring in Sentinel City. The city crime rate is 3,605.3 per 100,000 people. The common arrests listed from the police at city hall is 17% Battery, 23% Warrants, 16% Controlled Substance, 6% Public Intoxication, 6 % Reckless Conduct, 23% Other, 9% Criminal Trespassing. The violent crime rate is 311.1 per 100,000 people. After speaking with the Mayor of Sentinel City, I concluded that he has a plan in place for crime mitigation and wants to invest in prevention based coalition to decrease crime (SC, 2018).

Is there gang violence? Describe.

There is gang-related crimes that have occurred in sentinel City including homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, and robbery. Last year there were 20 homicides, 100 aggravated assaults, 38 simple assaults, and 40 robberies (SC, 2018). The numbers are fluctuating each year with some crime numbers slightly increasing and others slightly decreasing.

Scavenger Hunt

Parks and Recreation- Located in Nightingale Square, the parks and recreation department has proposed a budget for parks, facilities, programs and other recreational activities. The current educational programs offered include swimming lessons, nutrition courses, gardening courses, kids summer programs, city sports leagues, adult fitness courses and after school programs. There are statistics of the most common park complaints which include park cleanliness, homeless population, stray animals, drugs, park location and crime.

Healthcare System-Elderly Services- Located in Acer Tech Center, the healthcare system as it pertains to elderly services shows in the last year offerings include medical care advocates, senior transportation, service animals, meals on wheels, elder abuse prevention advocates, community centers, and government entitlement assistance. There are also numerous forms of senior living unit options which include 3,472 senior living center units, 1048 independent senior