Lacy Housing Survey, 2015-2018
THRIVE founding members The Kennedy Commission, in collaboration with St. Joseph’s Health System’s Community Building Initiative and researchers Carolina Sarmiento and Revel Simms, carried out a survey in the Lacy neighborhood to focus particularly on housing issues. Lacy residents, as well as volunteers from the Centro Cultural de Mexico and Latino Health Access, went door-to-door since 2015 to ask about housing conditions, income, and other related issues. Survey results revealed much lower income levels in the neighborhood than had been previously documented: 1 in 10 households survive on less than $10,000/year! Very high levels of overcrowding and rent-burdened households have also been documented. These findings were presented by residents and researchers to the local neighborhood as well as representatives of the City of Santa Ana City. The Kennedy Commission, working with the new resident organization Vecindario Lacy en Accion (VeLA), has continued to implement the survey each year, to keep track of changes in the neighborhood.