WATSONVILLE — The Watsonville City Council Chambers was packed Monday morning with community leaders, organization representatives, media outlets and other county residents for the release of the 23rd annual Community Assessment Project report.
The event, which was sponsored by the City of Watsonville and First 5 Santa Cruz County, presented the findings of the Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project (CAP), produced by Applied Survey Research every year. Speakers took to the podium to shed light on everything from local housing issues to educational rankings.
Throughout the morning, community members from various agencies and organizations were awarded accolades for their work.
Watsonville Mayor Oscar Rios thanked everyone present at the event for what they do for the community, particularly in South County. He acknowledged the work that still needs to be done, urging residents to “be vigilant” in protecting each other’s rights.
“Every one of us wants to move forward, to keep improving life here,” Rios said. “Together we can overcome all of these challenges we face.”
The event itself was broken up into several sections: Economy, Education, Health, Natural Environment, Public Safety and Social Environment.
Watsonville City Manager Charles Montoya introduced each speaker, who reported on findings from their areas of interest. The CAP Community Heroes were also introduced throughout the program.
While speakers and Heroes alike touched on a number of topics, one specific issue arose consistently throughout the event: the county’s lack of affordable housing.
According to Ed Durkee of Goodwill Central Coast, Santa Cruz County residents are particularly struggling with rising rental prices and other housing costs. The county’s Latino population pay higher on average, which Durkee attributes to many white residents already being retired homeowners.
“This is definitely the big issue we all have to address,” Durkee said. “We really need to sort through our values, to come up with better solutions.”
Other issues brought up during the event were the need for more child care services, confusion over health care coverage, public transportation/traffic frustration and the increase in hate crimes countywide.
But this year’s CAP Report revealed plenty of positive results as well.
Watsonville Police Capt. Jorge Zamora reported that gang membership is down from last year, and Laura Segura of Monarch Services revealed that civic engagement in Santa Cruz County had increased, with more than 30 percent of people having attended a protest or demonstration.
Toward the end of the event, Mary Lou Goeke of the United Way was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Goeke, who received a master’s degree in Social Work before moving from Missouri to San Francisco, is retiring after 25 years as the executive director of the United Way of Santa Cruz County.
“This is definitely the best day of the year,” Goeke said. “Seeing everyone here, working together to make our home a better place.”
To access all results of the 2017 Santa Cruz County CAP report, visit appliedsurveyresearch.org/scccap.
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This year’s CAP Community Heroes are:
Roy Sikes, Nora Caruso, Ron Indra, Steve McKay, Denise Pitman-Rosas, Nathan Nguyen, Peggy Benedum, Jonathan Pilch, Kristy Shulman, Dr. Sepideh Walthard, Holly Hughes, Charles “Stoney” Brook, Gabriella Grant, Rich Casale and Mary Lou Goeke.
