(Joplin, MO) – City of Joplin officials are asking residents, business and property owners, and all interested Joplin citizens to participate in a survey related to homelessness as part of a Homeless Planning process being conducted.
This information-gathering stage is important as the first step to learning more about the homeless service providers, existing service offerings and gaps, and current collaborative efforts. Responses to the questions will help determine possible resolutions and best practices for the Joplin community.
To take the survey, click here. The survey is open through July 14, 2023.
The City recently contracted Sharity Global from Winter Park, Florida, to work with the City and its partners including the homeless coalition agencies and organizations to conduct the analysis and develop a strategic plan to address various community matters involved with homelessness.
Assistant City Manager Tony Robyn is working with Sharity and coordinating meetings with the homeless coalition organizations and agencies, business owners, and other community groups to ensure that input from all levels is included in the survey as well as the study.
“The survey is designed to receive information from the distinct perspective of the individual,” explained Robyn. “Questions will ask about the type of experience the person has with homelessness, whether they are a service provider, a volunteer, a donor, a community member or another role, and depending on how they respond they will answer a specific line of questions pertaining to these positions. It’s a short survey and takes about five minutes, yet it gathers essential data about the many ways we interact with homelessness and related issues and will help identify areas that we may need to address.”
In addition to this work, Sharity representatives will meet with stakeholders, host public forums, and may develop additional surveys in coming months to learn more about the different processes in which they engage with the homeless as well as the collaboration among their coalition.
“By gathering this information from organizations and the public, we will have a better understanding of what the priorities and issues are to address, and we can identify other areas to improve upon through a planning process,” said Robyn. “The outcome for all of us should be an actionable, collaborative plan with organizational accountability so we can continue to serve the needs of the community. While we cannot solve the complex issues of homelessness, we can certainly work more cohesively on common and shared goals.”
Robyn encourages citizens to take the survey and to share it with others. “The more people who take this survey, the stronger our community’s plan and outcomes will be.”
Learn more about this survey here.
Reference:
Lynn Iliff Onstot, Public Information Officer
City of Joplin
417.624.0820, ext. 204
LOnstot@joplinmo.org
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