Surveying Residents to Provide Programs They Want 

In 2023, NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability (REES) surveyed NYCHA residents 18 and older to find out more about their goals and interests so REES can ensure residents are being connected to the services they want.  

REES connects residents to partner organizations that provide employment and career advancement, adult education and vocational training, financial empowerment, and business start-up and development. Based on the results of the surveys, REES evaluates its partnerships and resources so that it can tailor its offerings per residents’ requests. 

The NYCHA Journal spoke with REES Director Michelle Raymie about the results of the 2023 REES Survey and how REES is using the results. 

What are some key takeaways from the survey? 

Michelle Raymie: Employment is a top interest of residents, but we’re seeing diverse types of employment. Residents aren’t only interested in full-time employment; they want part-time, self-employment, as well as apprenticeships and internships. People want to work but they also want it to fit into whatever their schedules may allow.  

We also learned a lot of the perceived barriers that prevented residents from participating. Some residents may have felt like they didn’t have enough education, skill set, or childcare. These kinds of things help us understand our residents and help us figure out what kind of supports to put in place to help them. 

How have you used survey results so far? 

MR: We’ve been presenting the results to partners and potential partners, to say ‘this is what residents’ interests and needs are.’ We’ve presented to resident leaders and there’s been a lot of interest from City agencies and community-based organizations, and we’ve been able to share the results with them as well. Sharing what residents’ interests and needs are has been important, because the focus of our work is not just on what we think individuals want but what they actually tell us they want.  

We’ve been doing a lot of work centered around vocational training and other adult education to determine what partnerships we need, what partnerships are missing, and we’ve been working with partners to see what type of programs and additional resources we can bring to residents. We’ve also used the results in our grant writing; the results helped us with two grants we’ve received.  

How will you use the survey results moving forward? 

MR: We want to make sure we’re going in the right direction regarding our partnerships. Ideally, we’ll use the results to bring more tailored resources to NYCHA residents. For instance, residents in the Bronx might be interested in a particular training or resources that could be slightly different from residents in Brooklyn. 

A lot of our partners are centered around the work we do here at NYCHA, such as construction, but we’re finding that residents are also interested in office administration, and for the last two years there has been an increased interest in education pathways such as becoming a teacher or teacher’s assistant. We’ll see what career pathways people are interested in. We may not have as much interest in some of the high-growth industries like technology, but maybe that means we need more education on the career pathways in that field so residents can see the potential. We have a lot of programs on becoming community health workers, but there are other health pathways residents might be interested in more resources on, including nursing.  

A lot of residents already have their high school diploma or post-secondary degrees, so for some of them it’s not about getting that first job: they need assistance with career advancement. Some of the career interest is also vocational, outside of the traditional vocational opportunities we currently have.  

There’s also a lot of interest in financial security and saving money. We know that there’s a need for more financial counseling, and home ownership has always been a big interest so we’re trying to build that up as well. 

The previous survey was in 2022; based on the feedback, REES launched five new partnerships and created new NYCHA resident initiatives such as NYCHA’s Clean Energy Academy. Can you give another example of a partnership that came from those survey results?  

MR: In 2022, there was interest in creative fields, so we brought in Reel Works and Roundabout Theatre to bring different training programs, including theater production, to our residents. 

How many residents completed the survey? 

MR: We had about 8,500 residents complete the 2023 survey, which is up from the 2,500 residents that completed the survey in 2022. We did phone banking, attended Family Days, and were out tabling in NYCHA communities. We’re so grateful that many participants completed the survey and, of course, we’d love to see even more residents participate in future surveys. The next survey will be within the next few years, because we want to be really intentional and take the time to build the partnerships residents want. 

We hope residents recognize that their voices are being heard and know that the work we’re doing is for them. We’re building relationships with partners that want to work with and support NYCHA residents. 

Read the 2023 REES Client Survey results here.