Improving living standards

Improving Living Standards

Chad Robinette

City of Goose Creek: An Introduction

• - as of 2000, Goose Creek has 48,628 residents

• - 97.7% are considered to live in an urban environment, vs. 2.3% considered to be rural

• -primarily middle-class; however, there is a large discrepancy between the rich and the poor.


• - Primarily made up of Caucasian and African-American residents

• - most common income between $35,000 and $49,999, 21.4% of the city’s population

• - slightly more male residents than female residents


Population # %

Male 25, 381 52.2

Female 23, 247 47.8

Total 48, 628 100.0

Table 1: Population by Sex – Goose Creek

Source: SC Community Profiles, 2000


Population # %

Urban 47, 573 97.7

Rural 1100 2.3

Total 48, 673 100

Table 2: Urban vs. Rural Population – Goose CreekSource: SC Community Profiles, 2000

Census Tract Analysis

• Census Tract 208.03

• Bordered by Liberty Hall Road, North Goose Creek Blvd/Hwy 52, Henry Brown Jr. Blvd, and Medway Rd.

• Bordered by Tracts 207.07, 207.03, 208.02, of Goose Creek, and 31.12 of North Charleston



• Railroad runs through Liberty Hall Rd.

• Henry Brown Jr. Blvd leads to a private area.

• Dogwood Park is located on Liberty Hall Road

• Dogwood Park – small park, with a football/soccer field, basketball court, and slides; wooden steps and “swinging bridge” –park overall is not very accessible to disabled residents






• Clear division between the wealthy and poor

• Liberty Hall Plantation – middle-class/upper-class subdivision

• two- to three-story homes, multiple streetlights, well-kept homes, clean sidewalks along one side of the road




• Longleaf subdivision

• Directly across from Liberty Hall Plantations

• Also upper- and middle- class

• Large houses


• Birch Hollow

• Mobile home community

• No sidewalks

• Unfilled potholes

• Very few streetlights




Strengths:

• cooperation among members of the community – members share resources when they are able

• resources already available to residents include: a debt management program coordinated by a local church; another local church provides free meals every Wednesday; local library assists in career searches

Social Problem

• Greatest social problem = poverty

• Poverty is being caused by rising unemployment rate

• Has led to an increase in teen pregnancy

• Poverty in census tract community is a reflection of overall concerns in the City of Goose Creek, as evidenced by growing population and reports of people sleeping in cars

Grant Proposal

• “Foundation to Improve Living Standards”

• Premise: As of 2007, 5.1% of Goose Creek population falls below poverty line

• Poverty leads to rise in child-related illnesses and deaths, due to inadequate healthcare

• Rise in teen pregnancy

• Difficulties in obtaining higher education, as well as job opportunities

Grant Proposal

• Coordinates with already-existing local resources

• Operates out of local churches/public facilities

• Support group, which is led by members in conjunction with staff

• In theory, members of the support group, being members of the same community, will already know each other, and more quickly become comfortable discussing sensitive issues related to the program

Grant Proposal

• Scheduled in a series of weekly sessions, scheduled in similar fashion as weekly classes in a typical school semester (i.e. with “winter break” between semesters)

• Each session follows a theme, such as money management, interviewing processes, handling frustrations

• Will also organize food drives, clothing drives, and hygiene drives to raise supplies for members of the group

Grant Proposal

• Evaluation plan includes pre-tests and post-tests to measure levels of depression, anxiety, and overall life satisfaction

• Surveys to determine what clothing, food, hygiene supplies are most needed by group members

• as sessions progress, other assessments done to assess knowledge of interviewing skills, resume-writing skills, and other career-seeking skills

Grant Proposal

• To maintain integrity and modeling after current best practices for the work this organization means to perform, the tests will also include evaluations of the organization’s paid staff by the group’s participants, via assessments such as the Practice Skills Inventory, which measures the social worker’s effectiveness in three areas of intervention: supportive skills such as empathy and improving self-confidence; coping skills such as teaching problem-solving skills; and case management, or the ability to coordinate other services as needed for the group members (O’Hare and Sherrer, 2006).

Grant ProposalBudget Request

Total Project Budget Request Match

Expenses

Salaries 90000 45000 45000

Benefits 40000 20000 20000

Total Salary & Benefits 144000 72000 72000

Training 4000 2000 2000

Telephone 1000 500 500

Advertisement 2000 1000 1000

Office Supplies 900 450 450

Curriculum 900 450 450

Postage 300 150 150

Total Direct Costs 153100 76550 76550

Indirect Costs (5%) 7655 3827.5 3827.5

Grant Proposal

• Narrative:

• Salaries & Benefits: A total of $90,000 is allocated for salaries of three staff at one church, with a total of $40,000 in benefits to include basic dental, vision, and medical insurance.

• Training: A total of $4,000 in training is provided, to include staff training, and trainings given to volunteer/lay leaders by staff.

• Telephone: A total of $1,000 is allocated for assisting in contributing in payment of the host facility’s telephone bill.

Grant Proposal

• Advertisements: A total of $2,000 is allocated in advertisement efforts, to include flyers, posters, internet advertisements, and advertisements in local newspapers.

• Office Supplies: A total of $900 has been allocated for office supplies, primarily consisting of paper, staplers and staples, pens and pencils, paperclips, and similar supplies. Assisting the host facility with printer cartridges and toner for printers/copiers is included in Indirect Costs.

• Curriculum: A total of $900 is allocated for any curriculum materials, such as handbooks, career search resource books, self-help books, or guidebooks for lay/volunteer leaders.

Grant Proposal

• Postage: A total of $300 has been allocated for any necessary postage.

• Indirect Costs: An indirect cost rate of 5% has been applied to this project, totaling $7,655. This will include assisting host facility with a portion of standard utility and electricity costs, as well as printer inks and cartridges.

• Summary: The total budget for this program is $146,755. Amount requested is approximately half, and program will match with half provided from other funding sources. As this program will operate out of local churches, church offices will be used for staff, and meetings will be held in church meeting rooms or “fellowship halls”. Primary expenses will be dedicated to paid staff and assisting with utilities of the facility, such as electricity, central heating and air, and water. Other supplies include computer equipment and office supplies. Budgeting will be for both bought computer equipment, with encouragement to seek donations as well. Initially, it will operate out of one local large church with adequate facilities, and as it grows, will expand to other area churches or other area facilities with space available.

References

• n.a. (n.d.). South Carolina Community Profiles: Zip Codes. In South Carolina Community Profiles. Retrieved October 7, 2010, from http://www.sccommunityprofiles.org/zipcode.php?PLACEID=178.

• O’Hare, T. & Sherrer, M. (2006). Measuring Practice Skills with Community Clients.

• Best Practices in Mental Health: An International Journal, 2(2), 31-42. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

• US Census(2000). http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 15 November 2010.

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Improving living standards