Community Ambassadors Achieve Historic 70% Response Rate on Resident Needs Assessment
- Staff
- Jul 1
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 7
July 2, 2025 - After a 10-week intensive outreach campaign, the Poughkeepsie Choice Neighborhoods Initiative has successfully completed its Resident Needs Assessment, reaching 70% of households at both Martin Luther King Jr. Garden Apartments and Thurgood Marshall Terrace. The five Community Ambassadors, working alongside Poughkeepsie Children's Cabinet staff, achieved their target of 75 completed surveys, 46 at MLK and 29 at TMT, gathering critical data to inform the comprehensive Transformation Plan for the Northside neighborhood.
The successful completion of the Resident Needs Assessment represents a significant milestone in the community-driven planning process. Led by the Community Ambassadors and coordinated by the Children's Cabinet team, including: Community Ambassadors Coordinator Edgar Rivera-Cash, Community Partnership Director Matt Evans, Executive Director Jill Gomez, and Talent Fellow Bryce Holland. The campaign evolved through three distinct phases from April 28
to July 2. The early phase focused on building awareness and trust through door-to-door outreach and informal conversations. When participation rates slowed during the mid-phase, the team adapted by introducing evening and weekend sessions, pop-up BBQ events, daily walk-in hours, and a simplified voucher-based scheduling system that proved particularly effective for senior ambassadors navigating technology barriers.
The final phase intensified efforts with additional pop-up events, concurrent walk-in sessions at both sites, and support from community leaders like Dr. Felicia Watson, a Poughkeepsie Housing Authority Commissioner who personally made cold calls, went door-to-door, and administered surveys. The team's use of an Excel-based tracking dashboard enabled real-time coordination and prevented duplication of efforts, while bi-weekly strategy sessions created space for ambassadors to share insights and adjust approaches. The campaign also prioritized inclusion by offering surveys in Spanish, a gesture that one MLK resident noted made them feel "seen and included" in a way that community planning efforts rarely do.
The 75 completed surveys will now inform the development of the Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan, with findings focused on housing, neighborhood improvements, and people-centered strategies. Community Ambassadors shared preliminary results at the August pool party, demonstrating their continued leadership in the planning process. The 70% response rate stands as a testament to the power of resident-led engagement and the trust that the Community Ambassadors built within their own communities over months of consistent, authentic outreach.
