Greene County, Illinois

Prioritized Needs

The CNA began with listening through a public survey, focus groups, and individual interviews, and with a review of existing or secondary data. To identify and prioritize the needs in each county, the CNA researchers gave each topic (or need) a score using all of the data collected. The scores were assigned using these criteria: how many people were impacted; how great the racial disparity was; and if the need was a root cause (main reason) for a condition or outcome. These scores were also driven by how community members responded to the topic through the survey, focus groups, and interviews. Using the scores given by the CNA researchers, United Way ranked the top half of each county’s needs.

Community Engagement

After CNA partners reviewed all collected data to identify a list of priority needs for each county, residents were given the opportunity to identify the needs they believed to be highest priority. No community members participated to identify the most pressing needs for Greene County.

A total of 20 responses for Greene County were recorded through the public survey, focus group, and one-on-one interviews. For the public survey, one of the nine participants was a person of color. The one-on-one interviews included eight individuals, none of whom were people of color. No demographic data was recorded for the three supplemental social service and local government survey participants.

Key takeaways from survey, interview, and focus groups in this county:

• Perceptions of community change vary among residents. When asked about conditions in their communities, three of nine residents said their community was getting worse, three said it was improving, and two felt their communities were unchanged.
• Farmers are concerned about their land and operations. Of the six residents surveyed or interviewed who own a farm, all are worried about the continued viability of their farms due to flooding and/or not having an option to pass the farm down to the next generation as the farm owner ages.
• While residents mostly enjoy their “small towns,” they feel isolated. Nearly all survey and interview participants shared that they feel isolated from people (some from within their community, others from outside), economic opportunity, and services. Healthcare was the most common service residents stressed not being easily accessed or available in their communities.
• A thriving community is what residents most commonly desire for the future of Greene County. The most common hope shared by survey participants for the future of their community is one that is economically thriving and growing (6/9 responses).

Survey participants were not required to answer all questions, therefore response totals often vary by question

Only one resident of color participated in the CNA engagement process through the public survey and one-on-one interviews. Due to the relatively low number of people of color in Greene County and to protect the individual’s anonymity, the participant’s views have been represented in the above takeaways rather than shared separately.

Funding Analysis

Community Partnerships