Community Assessment of Union County 1

Community Assessment of Union County

Diana Hoyos Lopez and Brooklyn Henderson

Wingate University

SOC 475-04: Group and Community Work in Human Services

Mrs. Samantha Oakley

April 27, 2021

Community Assessment of Union County 2

Overall Assessment of Union County

With the data and evidence researched throughout the semester, it is evident to note that a

significant population portion of Union County continues to struggle under poverty, especially in

regards towards children. Specifically, there are around 7,920 children who are living at or below

the poverty line, which breaks down to 12.7% of the children population in Union County (Data

USA, 2020). This evidence is further supported in another chart given by the U.S. Census, where

the data states that about 10 to 20 percent of school-aged children currently live in poverty within

North Carolina (U.S. Census, 2020). More importantly, most of the children within this data

range identify towards minority communities. The three main ethnic groups of Union County

include: White (non-Hispanic), Black or African American and White (Hispanic). As a whole,

Union County lies below the U.S. national average of the poverty line. However, through the

research collected and interviews conducted with several organizations located within Union

County, a sufficient amount of resources and services are being provided towards school-aged

children so that they can succeed. Nonetheless, there is still plenty of room for improvement. The

organizations located within Union County should continue to focus its efforts on supporting

school-aged children and their corresponding families.

Review of Services Provided in Union County

It is common to note that various schools within Union County cater their services

towards school-aged children living below or at the poverty line. The majority of elementary

schools located within Union County classify as a Title I academy, indicating that the schools

receive significant federal funding to help impoverished students (Union County Public Schools,

2021). In fact, most services provided for impoverished children in Union County target those

who do not live in a permanent and safe home. According to the official website of Union
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County Public Schools, 252 children and youth were identified to be enrolled in the schools

that were considered to be homeless (2021). Each school within Union County has a

designated homeless liaison to connect and offer assistance towards at-risk students. A

student is regarded as homeless if they lack a “...fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime

residence” (Union County Public Schools, 2021). Despite such circumstances, each student

reserves the right to enroll within the school system, even if the child lacks any documents

that are normally required to enroll within the system. Parents or guardians can also request

transportation from the school, helping the student to attend and leave school (2021).

Even if the public school system fails towards providing services for homeless and/or

impoverished children, there are other organizations located within Union County that provide

services to help these students succeed. One of these services include the Union County

Community Shelter; this community shelter helps serve meals and shelter for the homeless

community, as well as providing resilience programs to help these individuals achieve self-

sufficiency (Union County Community Shelter, 2021). This shelter alone contains an extensive

dining hall, providing the clients with 3 meals a day (Union County Community Shelter, 2021).

They also equip a drive-thru pantry, which occurs 2 times a month. Another service provided

includes Union County’s Food Bank, which supports about a total of 36 programs alone. In

2015-2016, the program helped deliver over 50 million pounds of food and household items

throughout a 19 county service range (SecondHarvest, 2021). Moreover, the Food Bank often

collaborates with elementary, middle, and high schools located within Union County. Kids Café

sites are also provided, where these sites administer the Backpack Program for children in need.

Lastly, another service provided is the Second Helping Program, which provides monthly boxes

of food to seniors in Union County who are considered homebound.

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Besides catering resources towards impoverished students, many organizations within

Union County focus on ensuring a child succeeds in their academic studies. Literacy education is

greatly emphasized, for a proficiency in literacy allows students to navigate and succeed in their

surroundings and future careers. In one of the organizations interviewed, the Alliance for

Children, the institution ensures providing tutoring sessions for school-aged children, especially

those who are classified to be at or below the average poverty rate. The organization is also

partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Foundation, which assures children (up to the age

of 5) to receive a free book. Another organization, named ourBridge for Kids, also provides an

educational program to help school-aged immigrants and refugees who have recently arrived to

the United States or identify as a 1st generation immigrant student. The program occurs after-

school, and the students are provided with help and tutoring on school homework and/or

assignments, most especially if it is English based.

Literacy education is also emphasized towards parents and guardians of these children.

Several organizations within Union County emphasize the whole person approach, where the

services are not only targeted towards the students, but their families as well. Evidently, they

ensure to target the issue from within the student’s home in order to guarantee the student’s

success. For example, even if a child significantly improves their English language skills and

their parent(s)/guardian(s) do not, the guardian will continually rely on their child to translate or

interpret in certain situations, inducing a significant amount of stress onto the child. As such,

these organizations aim to promote success and self-sufficiency within the students and their

families. Alliance for Children provides free tutoring services to help parents and/or guardians to

improve their reading skills, with ourBridge for Kids providing the same services towards

immigrant and refugee parents/guardians through the ESOL program.

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Within The Arc, this organization provides numerous services not only for children and

young adults who struggle with intellectual disabilities, but for their corresponding families as

well. Several of the different services they provide are: information/referral and individual

advocacy, self-advocate program (Aktion Club), First in Families of the Southern Piedmont,

Circle of Parents, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Prevention Project, Wings for All, and

Camp Spencer. The Akiton Club is a club that meets twice monthly with an agenda to foster

service to others in their local areas. Projects include canned food drives for Loaves and Fishes,

holiday projects for area nursing homes, United Way member agency projects, Adopt-A-Street,

and many other endeavors. The First in Families provides funding and the ability to provide

small grants to qualifying individuals to distribute funds for specialized therapies; activities for

health and wellness; home modifications or repairs to accommodate special needs; special

equipment requests; therapeutic summer camp scholarships; and/or non-covered medical needs.

Next, Circle of Parents is a parent-led and professionally facilitated bilingual parent support

group program that gives parents with children from birth to age five the opportunity to share in

each other’s challenges and successes while developing a network of support. Within the Fetal

Alcohol Project, they address the issue of women consuming alcohol during pregnancy and raise

awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Union County. Wings for All is an airport

rehearsal program designed to alleviate some of the stress that people with autism and other

developmental disabilities and their families experience when traveling by air, by providing

families with the opportunity to experience and learn about how their loved ones will react to

different stimuli in the airport. Lastly, Camp Spencer is a week-long day camp for individuals

ages 16+ with I/DD located in Concord. These services are available for those in the Union and
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Cabarrus counties with intellectual/developmental disabilities, but some of the above listed

services are available to those in other counties besides Union and Cabarrus County.

Guidance counselors also help provide services for students and their families at school,

with Unionville Elementary School being no exception. The guidance counselor within this

school helps provide small group and individual counseling; teach classroom guidance lessons to

all classes; and assist families with referrals for outside resources. Guidance counselors are there

to help students with all of the problems they are facing in life, and try their best to meet the

needs of the student, as well as help provide the best options of help for them and their families if

needed. Guidance counseling is critical for most students in a school setting, for their mental and

emotional state reflect their current academic performance. Students require additional emotional

and academic support in order to succeed in their studies and continue strengthening their self-

efficacy.

Suggestions to Continue Student Success

Education is a core factor for school-aged children to succeed in their future endeavors.

One suggestion that could be recommended towards the organizations in Union County would

include funding projects to provide impoverished students with technological necessities that are

required for school (such as laptops, headphones and/or earbuds for lectures, etc). Moreover,

such materials should also be catered towards family members to create equitable access to the

internet. Consequently, providing programs and/or tutoring workshops focusing on technology

and internet tips could prove to be beneficial for both students and their corresponding families.

The use of technology within schools has gradually increased over the years, most especially

during the COVID-19 pandemic where classrooms were forced to be conducted exclusively

online. Many families found themselves frustrated with this sudden change, primarily towards
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families who lacked access to laptops or computers and adequate access to the internet.

Furthermore, even if these individuals contained all of the following requirements, some

websites and programs were difficult to understand. Students and their families should have an

equal access to technology when it involves completing schoolwork, especially regarding the

fact that an abundance of schools are further relying on technology to conduct lectures and

assign homework, quizzes, and tests.

It is also critical for organizations within Union County to continue utilizing the Whole

Person Approach when addressing the issues and struggles school-aged children face. Though it

is equally important to resolve the struggle(s) and relieve the stress a young student experiences,

parents and guardians should receive the same amount of quality support so that they can support

their children by enhancing their confidence and self-efficacy. When a family as a whole is

addressed and supported, the likelihood of future generations requiring the same level of aid can

be significantly decreased. As such, we encourage the continued success of current children and

their families, but as well as providing this successful difference for future generations.
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References

Data USA. (2020). Union county, NC data [Data]. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/union-

county-nc#:~:text=The%205%20largest%20ethnic%20groups,and%2095.1%25%20are

%20U.S.%20citizens

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. (2020). Union county: Facts at a glance

[Infographic]. https://www.secondharvestmetrolina.org/file/facts/union_nc_facts2.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). Poverty rate of the school-age population by county: 2019

(Figure 5) [Data set]. U.S. Census Bureau.

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/visualizations/2020/demo/p30-

08/f5-mp-19.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). County poverty rate of the total population above or below

the national average by region: 2019 (Figure 8) [Data set]. U.S. Census Bureau.

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/visualizations/2020/demo/p30-

08/f8-mp-19.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). Distribution of school districts, school-age children, and

school-age children in families in poverty by school district population: 2019 (Figure 9)

[Data set]. U.S. Census Bureau.

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/visualizations/2020/demo/p30-

08/f9-mp-19.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). Distribution of school district poverty rate by state: 2019

(Figure 11) [Data set]. U.S. Census Bureau.

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/visualizations/2020/demo/p30-

08/f11-mp-19.pdf