2019 Valley Community Index: Understanding the Valley Region
This report is part of an ongoing, 25-year tradition of analyzing the economy, health, and quality of life of the Lower Naugatuck Valley region. The effort has included the 1996 Healthy Valley Report, the 2001 Mt. Auburn Report, the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center Community Health Profile, the 2010 Valley Cares Report, the 2013 Griffin Hospital Community Health Needs Assessment, and the Naugatuck Valley Health District’s 2013-2015 Community Health Improvement Plan. In 2014, in response to the local desire for more comprehensive data collection, the Valley Community Foundation convened a new Advisory Committee and engaged DataHaven to produce The Valley Now: A 2015 Snapshot, a brochure on baseline indicators of community well-being, which was followed by the 2016 Valley Community Index: Understanding the Valley Region report.
Like the 2016 report, the all-new 2019 report relies on data from dozens of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as information collected directly from live, in-depth interviews with more than 2,000 randomly-selected Valley residents as part of the statewide 2018 and 2015 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey. It was produced with guidance from an Indicators Advisory Committee that included representatives from the Alliance for Prevention & Wellness, Ansonia Youth Services Bureau, Area Congregations Together (ACT-Spooner House), BHcare, Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Center Stage Theatre, Derby Neck Library, Derby Public Library, Derby Youth Services Bureau, Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, Griffin Hospital, Housatonic Council, BSA, Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation, Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, Naugatuck Valley Health District, Naugatuck YMCA, Parent Child Resource Center, Shelton Economic Development Corporation, TEAM, Inc., Valley Parish Nurse Program, Valley United Way, The WorkPlace, Inc., Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and other organizations including municipal governments and school districts throughout the Valley.