MAHONING VALLEY Surveys to decide priorities

YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way Community Assessment, done to determine what the general public believes are the most critical issues facing the community, begins Monday.
The first phase consists of telephone calls to 500 randomly selected area residents by specially trained students from Youngstown State University.
The 10-minute interviews are designed to gauge public opinion on issues ranging from health care to economic development. The telephone surveys are expected to be completed within the next six weeks.
United Way has contracted with the YSU Center for Human Service Development to conduct the assessment. Funding for the project is provided by the John S. and Doris M. Andrews Trust, the Raymond John Wean Foundation, and the Dominion Foundation.
The total assessment, scheduled for completion in the spring of 2003, will also include workplace surveys, client surveys, community-corporate leader surveys and community focus groups.
Don Cagigas, president of United Way, said the assessment is an important opportunity for the people of the Mahoning Valley to tell United Way what issues are important to them.
& quot;We hope that the people who are called will take the time to answer the questions and share their opinions on these key topics, & quot; he added.
Information gathered from the assessment will be used to help establish priority areas and provide a baseline for assessments and for information necessary for grant opportunities.
It will also be shared with other groups in the community to help provide a foundation for a broader community plan, said Larry Moliterno, United Way director of planning and community investment.
"The results of the assessment will help United Way direct financial and human resources to impact key community needs and facilitate change, & quot; he said.