This Human Services Council study identifies human services assets and needs of each of four Connecticut municipalities, Norwalk, Wilton, Weston and Westport. This study is the result of one year’s work conducted by over one hundred fifty volunteers and coordinated by the Human Services Council of Mid-Fairfield, located in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Assets identified in this study include: 

Over 50% of the people in the area volunteer

70% of people think they have an opportunity to affect how things happen in their community

85% of key community leaders are also volunteers in not for profit organizations

Many human service agencies have hiring practices which promote the hiring of local residents

Civic organizations are involved in a myriad of activities which enhance the quality of life in the area

Faith organizations provide many supports in addition to religious supports; these include afterschool programs and child care programs.

The study identifies these needs:

Residents in all four towns identified the following community issues in the top ten as major or moderate problems in their community:

- Stress
- Health insurance
- Affordable housing
- Drug abuse
- Affordable child care or non-traditional hours child care

Residents in all four communities identified stress, anxiety and depression as major or moderate problems in their families.

Key informants in all four communities rated these as the greatest and least well-met needs: affordable housing, affordable child care, and alcohol and substance abuse treatment.

The report shows ratings of 100 human services as to need and how well the need is met for each of the communities and for each of eight fields of services.

Information was gathered through a random telephone survey of area residents; face to face interviews with key community leaders; and surveys of human service agencies serving residents of Mid-Fairfield County, civic groups, and faith organizations.

The full report is now available here as a PDF file.    This report is 213 pages in length and takes about 15 minutes to download to view.  (Requires Acrobat Reader.)

Hard copies may be ordered for $15.00 a copy. For more information, please contact the Human Services Council of Mid-Fairfield.

The Human Services Council announces the results of the HOMELESS SURVEY conducted by Advocates To End Homelessness (now known as The Advocate's Group - TAG):

DATA COLLECTION GUIDE FOR THE 2001 POINT-IN-TIME SURVEY OF THE HOMELESS - click on the title to download as a Microsoft Word file, or click HERE for PDF file.

During the week of March 15, 1999, forty-six agencies surveyed homeless households and those at risk of homelessness in the Greater Norwalk area of Norwalk, Weston, Westport and Wilton A total of 273 households were homeless and an additional 263 were at serious risk of becoming homeless. Many of these households had employment income and had become victims of the widening gap between housing costs and wages. Others are mentally ill, dually diagnosed or have another disabling condition that interferes with their ability to work or live independently of supportive services.

Single adult households comprise the greatest segment of the homeless population; these households are more than five times more likely to be homeless than family households. Homeless families most often consist of a single parent with two children. Nearly one-fourth of the children in these families is three years old or younger.

The process for conducting the survey won a HUD Best Practices Award in 1997!

For the full report please go to A Snapshot of Homelessness, Results of the 1999 Survey of the Homeless, Greater Norwalk, CT (MS Word file) - (Acrobat Reader PDF file).

A full set of tools to assist communities in conducting a point in time unduplicated homeless and demographic service needs survey were prepared for the Corporation For Supportive Housing under a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

STRATEGIES FOR CONDUCTING A POINT IN TIME HOMELESS AND DEMOGRAPHIC SERVICE NEEDS SURVEY (MS Word file) - (Acrobat Reader PDF file).

GUIDEBOOK FOR EVALUATING DATA FOR A POINT-IN-TIME SURVEY OF THE HOMELESS (MS Word file) - (Acrobat Reader PDF file).

DATA COLLECTION GUIDE FOR A POINT-IN-TIME SURVEY OF THE HOMELESS (MS Word file) - (Acrobat Reader PDF file).