Assessment of Community Needs

 The Pike Place Market Foundation is currently conducting a community-wide needs assessment as part of a broader effort to expand the scope of social services in the Market. This assessment incorporates in-depth interviews with local human service providers, focus groups with community members, and a survey that quantitatively measures and prioritizes the existing needs of Market residents, workers, and social service clients. This mixed-method approach paints a comprehensive picture of the current problems our community faces.

This year, 753 low-income Market community members were surveyed. Respondents include our Market residents, our homeless neighbors, clients at the Pike Market Food Bank, Senior Center, Preschool, Clinic, and Heritage House, as well as Daystall farmers, craftspeople, and buskers.

Our survey results tell us that Market community members demonstrate overwhelming need for the following services: dental, optometry, housing assistance, legal assistance, resident advocacy, mental health treatment, health education (disease prevention and management classes), homeless services (basic needs), expanded social work, and regular access to healthy food.

The results from this study are guiding the Market Foundation as we expand programming into our new Neighborhood Center on Western Avenue, which will be open as part of the new MarketFront by 2016. With this new evidence, we are beginning to explore feasible opportunities for social service expansion in the Neighborhood Center and beyond, so that we can better address the critical needs of the Market community.

Questions? Please contact Kelsey Houghton, Social Service Outreach Coordinator.