Be Heard!

Be Heard!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Latest Needs Assessment Survey

We got some good feedback from Lindsay on our needs assessment survey so I tweaked it a bit. Please let me know if you want to make any other changes. Also I changed the format of the blog because it was driving me nuts. :)  Here is the latest version.
Thanks, Sue

The purpose of this survey is to gain a better understanding of citizen concerns about voting and our community. We appreciate your help and participation.
To preserve your confidentiality please do not put your name on the survey.

Gender ?: ______________

Age Group: ___ under 18 ___ 18-25 ___ 26-35 ___ 36-55 ___56-65 ___ over 65

Education: ___Some high school ___ High school diploma/GED ___ Some College/ Trade School ___ Associates Degree ___ Bachelors Degree/Trade School Degree 

1. How long have you lived in the Salt Lake area? _________________

2. As a person who lives in Salt Lake City, please list 3 things that you feel are the biggest issues or concerns facing this community?
     1.
     2. 
     3. 

3. What do you think could be done to address these issues?

4. What barriers do you face that prevent you from voting?

5. Do you want to vote? If so why or why not?

6. Have you voted in the past? If so what motivated you to vote?

7. Additional Comments:

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

November 20,2014 (by Arielle Spanvill)

We have all be actively working on different areas of our project. Here are our latest updates:
Ø  We have continually been looking at articles and other media sources for information that may help and enrich our project. We have included one of the more recent articles that we thought was interesting.

Ø  We have a meeting scheduled with the Consumer Advisory Board at 4th Street Clinic on December 17th @ 6 pm. And are hoping to meet individually with a member of the board who seems excited about our project.

Ø  We have also completed a rough draft of our needs assessment survey: 

RECENT ARTICLE:
Enfranchising Homeless Clients: A Resource Guide to Voter Registration for Health Care for the Homeless Projects by Lynn A Martin. This article is about empowering homeless people by helping them register to vote and understanding how to use a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to organize voter registration drives.

Bill Would Expand Voting Rights for the Homeless by Jen Rini. This article talks about a Delaware Bill 378 that states that an individual has the right to receive necessary identity documentation for registering and voting. Representative Bolden identified three categories for the homeless population as: The Working Poor, Individuals on Disabilities, and Those who have drug and alcohol abuse problems.

After organizing registration assistance and transportation to polling location for the transitional and chronically homeless veterans at Freedom Landing, I discussed with my supervisor or conducting a survey for the residents to gain perspective on ideas surrounding voting for this population. I will create a survey and present it to my supervisor and to our macro group for comments and ideas.

ENFRANCHISING HOMELESS CLIENTS
A Resource Guide to Voter Registration for Health Care for the Homeless Projects
By Lynn A. Martin

FINDINGS
·         This guide is about empowering homeless people by helping them to register to vote.
·         Become familiar with your states’ policies regarding voter registration
·         Ex-felons right to vote vary by state
·         All non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations are permitted by law to organize voter registration drives
·         Organize a FAQ sheet for homeless persons who have questions about registration such as eligibility:
o   A citizen of United States
o   A legal resident of your state
o   At least 18 years old by election day
o   Not declared mentally incompetent by a court (check state policy)
o   Not felon/ex-felon (check state policy)
·         In most states your home address can be a geographical description of where you live or spend most of your time. You may be able to use the address of a friend, family member, or shelter.
·         Voter ID requirements (see attached)
·         Voter Registration Form
·         Sample Cover Letter to Candidate
·         Sample questionnaire for candidates for federal office
 BILL WOULD EXPAND VOTING RIGHTS FOR THE HOMELESS
By Jen Rini (6/13/14)
1.         FINDINGS
·         House Bill 378 (Delaware) states an individual has the right to vote, register to vote, and receive documentation necessary to prove identity for voting without discrimination due to his or her housing status.
·         This bill offers protection from discrimination while individuals are on the streets and when seeking access to housing, employment, and temporary shelter
·         Rep Bolden said she sees three categories of homeless:
o   The working poor
o   Individuals on disabilities
o   Those who have drug and alcohol abuse problems

ROUGH DRAFT OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT:

The purpose of this survey is to gain a better understanding of citizen concerns about voting and our community. We appreciate your help.
To preserve your confidentiality please do not put your name on the survey.

Gender: ____ female ____ male
Age Group: ___ under 18 ___ 18-25 ___ 26-35 ___ 36-55 ___56-65 ___ over 65
Education: ___ high school ___ college ___ graduate school
How long have you lived in the Salt Lake area? _________________

1. What barriers do you face that prevent you from voting?

2. Do you want to vote? If so why or why not?

3. Have you voted in the past? If so what motivated you to vote?

4. As a person who lives in Salt Lake City, please list 3 things that you feel are the biggest issues or concerns facing this community?
            1.
            2.
            3.
5. What do you think could be done to address these issues?


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

BLOG FOR NOVEMBER 7 (By Wendy Sorensen)


BLOG FOR NOVEMBER 7

WENDY SORENSEN
I read the following article and shared with the group:

Voting Rights: Registration Manual. You don’t need a Home to Vote. A report from National Coalition for the Homeless.  This report is designed to provide ideas to help overcome obstacles that prevent homeless people from registering. It was helpful information in prompting me to organize a registration and transportation drive for veterans at the VA Freedom Landing facility. 

I also took the information I read in the Voting Rights Registration Manual and discussed it with my practicum supervisor at the VA homeless housing facility called Freedom Landing. I coordinated a program to help register veterans to vote and also coordinated transportation on the voting day, November 4, to enable veterans to exercise their right to vote more easily. Approximately six veterans took advantage of the program. 

I attended the Fall Veterans Honoring & Outreach dinner for American Indian Veterans at the Urban Indian Center. There were approximately 30 to 40 veterans and their families who were honored. They encouraged veterans to get discuss their needs and get involved in change.

ARIELLE SPANVILLE
Hey guys here are some articles:


This one talks about the fourth amendment and the homeless which maybe too far out of scope, although it has some good stats


Has anyone looked into project H.O.M.E. or the MiKinney Act or the Supreme Court ruling on Reynolds v Sims?  Also since we just discussed theories of poverty in class, maybe looking at constructive disenfranchisement as a theory. 

EMILY HORTON AND SUE ATIVALU
I would love to go meet with the Consumer Advisory Board.  Let me know when you schedule and I'll try to make it. Sue and I were working on putting together a list of needs assessment type questions to ask in a group she is planning to do at Cornerstone, related to political and community involvement.  Below are my questions, thought that might be good to include in the blog:

Did you vote in the last presidential election?
Did you vote in the last non-presidential election?
How many times have you voted in the last 5 years?
Do you plan to vote in the upcoming election?
What barriers do you face that prevent voting?
Do you want to vote?
Do you feel that your vote would make a difference?
Have you ever been to a city council meeting? Or taken political or other action to make change in your community in another way?
What community issues affect your life?  Are there any of these you would like to take action to change?  Any ideas about how you would do that?

I heard back from one of the members from Consumer Advisory Board with the 4th Street Clinic.  He is pretty passionate about the topic and wants to schedule a time to meet.  Does anyone want to join when I set this up?  Or if anyone has any questions they would like posed, please let me know.