photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

The gated entry to The Village, 256 N. Michigan St., is pictured on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. The site is home to 50 Pallet cabins for people experiencing homelessness.

Not everyone in Douglas County is aware of all that the community is doing to address homelessness and make housing more affordable, according to a recent community survey, and a team of advocates hopes to ramp up communication efforts to get more people informed and involved.

In the fall of 2024, the market research firm ETC Institute conducted a community survey across Douglas County as part of an ongoing initiative to fight homelessness and improve affordable housing availability in the community. The survey asked participants about their understanding of the work and strategies associated with “A Place for Everyone,” the city-county plan to end chronic homelessness and provide affordable, accessible housing opportunities.

In total, 411 surveys were submitted by county residents. According to the report from ETC, 45% of respondents described themselves as “very informed” or “informed” about the plan.

From a community engagement perspective, that’s a good starting point, said Dustin Stumblingbear. He’s one of the conveners of the community engagement workgroup for “A Place for Everyone,” which is made up of community volunteers and agency representatives throughout Douglas County.

But the survey also showed that there’s still work to be done.

photo by: Screenshot

Results from “Overall, how informed are you on the strategic plan to end chronic homelessness in Douglas County, ‘A Place for Everyone’?”

The survey asked about people’s awareness of the five focus areas within the plan – emergency services and shelter, affordable housing, supportive housing, equity and inclusion and systems — and about specific projects that were being done to address housing issues. Some projects, it showed, were well known to the public, including The Village, a project with 50 Pallet cabins on North Michigan Street intended to help people transition out of homelessness and into permanent housing.

But respondents were less familiar with some other parts of the plan, like its equity and inclusion area, which focuses on the impact of homelessness on women and people who are Black, Indigenous, or other people of color. And more than a third of respondents weren’t aware that there is a process in the city and county, when staff members make contact with someone who is homeless and not from the community, to help them relocate to their city or town of origin; 39% of respondents said they were “not informed” about that process.

Some of the least-known initiatives — which 52% of respondents were unaware of — were tax incentives that encourage new affordable housing development by private developers.

Despite the fact that respondents weren’t informed about many aspects of the city and county plan, they made it clear that they want local governments involved. Over three-fourths of residents surveyed said that affordable housing should be a priority for both the city and county governments.

Stumblingbear said the community engagement workgroup would work to develop a “community toolkit” to help community members gain a quick look at “A Place for Everyone.” He said the toolkit would briefly go over each focus area of the plan, along with a timeline showing accomplishments of the plan. The work group has begun looking for venues where they can present the toolkit across Douglas County with in-person interactions, he said.

The survey itself was five pages and was mailed to a random sample of households in Lawrence and Douglas County, including a postage-paid return envelope and cover letter. It also provided a link for an online version, and about 10 days after it was sent out, a follow-up message was sent to encourage participation.

But there were some groups that weren’t as well represented in the survey results as others, Stumblingbear said. For example, renters are over 50% of the population in Lawrence, but only 27.3% of people who responded to the survey said that they rented their current residence.

That may have been because they thought they’d already voiced their opinions, Stumblingbear said.

“One interpretation of this low participation is that many renters recently participated in the Douglas County Tenant Experience Survey,” Stumblingbear said via email. “They may have felt they were able to voice their experiences and did not need to fill out another housing related survey.”

So, the survey may not be perfect, but Assistant County Administrator Jill Jolicoeur told the Journal-World in an email that the results are a crucial tool, informing the workgroup’s strategies to improve housing initiatives in the city and county.

“We plan to enforce efforts to inform the community that this strategic community plan isn’t only about addressing homelessness, but it’s also about increasing affordable housing and ensuring individuals can access supportive services to remain in their homes,” Jolicoeur said.

Stacie Schroeder, assistant director for Habitat for Humanity and another convener for the workgroup, said the group is eager to get the community involved in the plan however it can.

“We recognize housing is the foundation of a healthy community, and in order to achieve our goals, we are going to need the community to be active in every way possible,” Schroeder said in the email. “This survey was done to get a baseline idea of how much our community is aware of our efforts and our goals for the future.”

photo by: Screenshot

Results from “What is your level of agreement with the following statement: I would consider supporting affordable apartments in my neighborhood?”

photo by: Screenshot

Results from “What is your level of agreement with the following statement: I would consider supporting affordable single family homes in my neighborhood?”

photo by: Screenshot

Results from “What is your level of agreement with the following statement: I would consider supporting affordable housing for seniors in my neighborhood?”

photo by: Screenshot

Results from “What is your level of agreement with the following statement: I would consider supporting affordable housing for families in my neighborhood.”