Substance abuse, health care costs top Valley concerns

MAT-SU -- A new survey from the social services group Mat-Su Agency Partnership (MAP) has hit the streets and has given people from various local social service agencies a new window into the Valley's needs.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the randomly sampled citizens as well as the community and business leaders who were surveyed cited alcohol and other substance abuse as a major problem in the Valley. Another frequently cited problem was a lack of affordable health care.

Poor employment conditions, teen pregnancy and inadequate roads are also on people's minds, according to the survey which is called the Matanuska-Susitna Community Needs Assessment. Among people who own their own homes, expensive medical insurance and stress, anxiety or depression were major concerns.

When asked about education, survey respondents also expressed a lack of confidence in local public schools.

"We're taking this report seriously," Mat-Su school district spokesperson Kim Floyd said. "Because it's not connected in any way to anything the district has done. It's an objective, third-party report."

Floyd said high turnover in administration and recent, contentious contract negotiations have contributed to the district's image problems.

"We have had five superintendents in the last three years. Communication problems were cited every time [a superintendent left]," Floyd said. Three out of the five superintendents were hired on an interim basis, but two, Dr. Robert Lehman and former district teacher and

administrator Pat Chesbro were hired as permanent

superintendents but subsequently resigned.

Floyd said one of the district's problems is that many people believe the only option they have to communicate with the district is to show up at school board meetings, and that many people are intimidated by the prospect of speaking at a public meeting. The district is implementing a feedback survey of its own and trying to encourage community members to use the district Web site and other communication tools to give feedback to the board and administration.

"I think communication, to be honest, is one of those catch-all things that people refer to when there are problems. And quite honestly, it takes two sides to build good communication," Floyd said.

Members of MAP describe the survey as an overview of the Valley's needs, a sort of benchmark that can later be used to direct efforts to cure social ills. The survey data can also be cited in grant applications to government and private sector funding sources, MAP members said.

Karen Walton, executive director of the local public transit nonprofit MASCOT, said it's likely that directors and board members at each agency would have liked more specific information, but the survey was meant to be an overview.

"I think that [each agency] would have liked to have seen more information on their area of interest. I know I would have liked to see more information on transportation, but this wasn't meant to be all inclusive. It's more of a 'wet the appetite' kind of thing," Walton said.

In addition to its fixed-route bus service, MASCOT also provides door-to-door transportation to people in need of health employment or social services from various local agencies.

"The programs out here are outstanding," Walton said. "But because we are so spread out, it makes it hard for people to get to the services. I think we'd be hard pressed to find someone who hadn't heard of Nugen's Ranch, but getting the client to the agency can be a problem."

MAP also has for-profit, private sector members like Sarah Welton, a private practice counselor whose Palmer-based practice is called Alpha Counseling and Education Services. The survey is the first step in a process created by the national nonprofit United Way called Compass II, that MAP plans to use to prioritize needs and plan for services.

Of course, the survey results will also be used to seek funding for various social service needs. Welton -- who has previously worked for nonprofit agencies -- said MAP members emphasize the need to set community priorities over the need for data to show potential funding sources.

"There is cash flow, but they are doing [the survey] for a very good reason. Why not prioritize some of the things we need to work on?" Welton said. "If we can work on some of the greater needs, we can take care of some of the lesser needs without putting so much money and effort into them. Especially like health care, if people aren't afraid to go to the doctor because they have no insurance than maybe they will go before they are so sick that they are dying."