Community

Needs
Assessment
for United Way of Lamar County
Completed by students at
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY COMMERCE
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
Background
In Spring 2017, a group of graduate students
enrolled in a Social Work Research Methods class
at Texas A&M-Commerce completed a community
needs assessment on behalf of United Way of
Lamar County (UWLC).
Data Collection Method

Data were collected between February 2017 and

March 2017 from residents of Lamar County
primarily by posting a link on social media to
access the electronic survey.
Paper surveys were also passed out to members
and key informants of the community.
An email request was sent to the electronic
distribution list to the industry, healthcare and
community partners of United Way of Lamar
County.
Community Demographics 2016

49,566 people, 19,077 households, and 13,468

families residing in Lamar County

82% Caucasian, 13% Black or African American,

3% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1%
Native American, and 2% from other races.
Community Demographics
2016

32% of households had children under the age of

18 living with them
54% were married couples living together,
13% had a female householder with no husband
present
29% were non-families
Average household size was 2.48 and the average
family size was 2.99.
Community Demographics
2016

26% under the age of 18

8% age 18 to 24
50% age 25 to 64
15% age 65 years or older.
Median age was 37 years.
Community Demographics
2016

Total % with % % % HH
Househ Childre Married Female with
olds n Couples of individu
<age Househ als >
18 old age 65
19,07 32% 54% 13% 12%
7
Population Distribution by Town Community Assessment Report of UWLC, May 2017

Population Distribution by Town

Toco; 0% Roxton ; 1% Blossom; 3%

Unincorporated; 38%

Paris ; 51%

Sun Valley; 0%
Reno; 7%
 Source of Household Income
Community Assessment Report of UWLC, May 2017

Household Income Source

Supplemental Security Income (SSI); 6% Cash public assistance income; 1%

Retirement income; 14% Earnings

Social Security
Retirement income
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Earnings; 53% Cash public assistance income

Social Security; 26%

Poverty in the County
The highest concentration of poverty is in
children in Lamar County.
The highest concentration of wealth is
northeast of Paris.
The majority of wage-earners in Lamar
County make between $10,000 and
$30,000 annually.
Percent of Population in
18.8%
Poverty:
Percent of Population under 18
28.9%
in Poverty:
Demographics of Survey
Respondents (n=245)

Survey Lamar
Respondent County
s n=245 n=49,566
Gender 24% Male 48% Male
76% Female 52% Female
Ethnicity:
Caucasian
86% 86%
African 7% 11%
American

Hispanic
2.5% 1%
Education: 22% 5%
Masters

Bachelors
37% 7%
Some 27% 29%
College
High 11% 37%
Demographics of Survey
Respondents (n=245)
81% (n=200) were
employed full-time
8.5% were working part-time
4.45% were retired
5% were not working.
Demographics of Survey
Respondents (n=245)
Income Percentage of Respondents

$0 - $24,999

$25,000 - $49,999

Income Percentage in Lamar County

$50,000 - $74,999

$75,000 - $100,000

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Income for Lamar County
< $15- $35- >$65,0 $75- >$149
$15,000 34K 64k 00 149K k

Individu 41% 31% 21% 7%

al
Income
Househ 34% 28% 24% --- 12% 3%
old
Income
Demographics of Survey
Respondents (n=245)
Half of the respondents to this survey did
not have any children under 18 living in
the household.
Of those who reported having children
under 18 at home:
18% had one child
13% had 2 children
7% had 3 children
1% had 4 children.
Survey Questions
Domestic Violence
Substance Abuse (also see UWLC
report, pp. 13-14)
Homelessness
Food Assistance (also see UWLC report,
pp. 11-12)
Youth Development (also see UWLC
report, p. 17)
Parenting
Domestic Violence

Two-thirds of respondents indicated that domestic

violence occurs frequently in Lamar County and
one-third indicated that domestic violence occurs
sometimes.
Domestic Violence
74% of respondents had experienced or knew
someone who had experienced domestic violence
76% also knew that programs for prevention of
domestic violence in Lamar County existed
85% indicated prevention programs were helpful
Substance Abuse

93% indicated that substance abuse

occurs frequently in Lamar County.
75% reported they or someone they
know have a past or current addiction to
an illegal drug or alcohol.
Substance Abuse

80% indicated that programs in Lamar

County to treat substance abuse were
helpful
Homelessness

31% indicated homelessness as very

much a problem
64% indicated homelessness is
somewhat of a problem in Lamar County
5% indicated homelessness as not a
problem at all.
Homelessness
82% of respondents indicated knowledge of
shelters used by homeless (such as New Hope
and American Red Cross)
41% were aware of the homeless using manmade
or natural structures
57% were aware of the homeless using
abandoned homes for shelter
36% indicated their awareness of the homeless
using jail for shelter
20% indicated their awareness that the hospital
is used for shelter
Food Assistance
67% feel that food assistance somewhat
meets the needs of the hungry in Lamar
County.
30% indicated that food assistance
programs met the needs of the hungry
very well.
Youth Development

113 respondents answered questions for this part

of the survey (had children under 18 in their
home)
38% indicated that they were very aware of
activities available for youth in their community
66% indicated that they were somewhat aware
6% indicated that they were unaware of youth
activities in their community.
Youth Development
70% were aware of after school tutoring or
educational activities
100% were aware of sports or fitness activities
87% were aware of activities at the library
31% were aware of art activities
100% were aware of spiritual/religious activities
98% were aware of character building activities
such as Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.
Youth Development
24% indicated their child enjoyed
outdoor/nature activities
38% indicated their child enjoyed
summer camps.
33% indicated they would like
activities to be available at their
child's school, a park or the Boys
& Girls Club
Parenting

47% indicated no response when asked to what

extent parent-child education program would
benefit families in their community
12% indicated extremely beneficial
17% indicated significantly beneficial
18% indicated fairly beneficial
Parenting
When asked how significant the correlation between
parenting skills and child delinquency,
40% indicated extremely significant
29% indicating quite significant
16% indicating fairly significant
2% indicating mildly significant
16% did not respond.
Parenting
Discussion

The demographics of the sample are significantly

different than that of the overall community.
25% were male (versus 48% males for the county)
34% earned an average of $75,000-$100,000
annually (versus median income for county of $
31,609)
Discussion
As identified in the Assessment Report prepared by
UWLC, below are areas needing future research and
data:

Areas of entertainment and recreation

Evaluation of quality of life indicators
Number and locations of restaurants in relation
to food access and income
Availability of outdoor activities (trails, parks,
etc)
Discussion
Adult literacy rate
Number and location of community gardens
Accessibility to cooking and nutrition classes
Crime and public safety statistics, including
domestic violence and sexual assault
Discussion

Percentage of population actively using banking

systems (bank accounts, savings, loans)
Agricultural products
Race relations within the community
Overview of the Point in Time survey of
homelessness
Percentage of population diagnosed with
anxiety, depression, psychotic disorders
Future Plans
Fall 2017 New research class
starts
Spring 2018 Students begin
data collection
April 2018 - Completed report
submitted to UWLC