VoicesDMV: Uplifting Community Voices for a More Just and Inclusive Region

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is pleased to once again offer leaders and residents in the DMV a look into regional findings, as captured through the Voices of the Community: Community Insights survey. This iteration of the survey (VoicesDMV) is designed to keep a finger on the pulse of the community by engaging and listening closely to the voices, experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of people who live here, across jurisdictions.

 

At its heart, this survey is a community listening and engagement tool that seeks to ascertain how residents in the region are experiencing key quality of life indicators related to economic opportunity, wellbeing, safety, influence in our democracy, and general perceptions about livability in the region. Previous surveys in 2017 and 2020 revealed wide disparities in income and opportunity, preventing many from accessing the region’s economic growth and prosperity. Our last survey documented disparities and hardships in the Greater Washington region just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, many of these disparities and hardships remain — some exacerbated by the health and economic trauma of the past few years. The vast majority of DMV residents say the pandemic changed their lives, and this report details the many challenges ahead — including access to basic needs, combating homelessness, barriers to employment and more. But there are also rays of optimism that offer hope to those seeking to move the region’s residents from stability to economic mobility. These data help us get on a path to a future where all of our community members are thriving.

Click here to read the full report.

Source: Greater Washington Community Foundation