Community Health Assessment / Windshield Survey

 Community Project for Just 4 Developmental Laboratory: St Stephens Rd 

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History-     Just 4 Developmental Laboratory is a public preschool associated with the Mobile County Public Schools System. It is located in a community in Mobile, AL called Toulminville.  Toulminville was named after Theophilus Toulmin and was part of a land grant in 1733 called the St Louis grant. It was even a military headquarters at one point (The News Herald, 1978). There are many subdivisions and apartment complexes along the stretch from Craft Highway to Cox Street, our chosen segment of Toulminville. There are some newly renovated apartments, but there are also several dilapidated buildings as well as homes built several decades ago. This can be seen by observation and through Google Maps. There are other constructs such as fast-food restaurants, churches, banks, schools, health centers, and more. Speaking to a family member of a former resident, she said “there used to be a JC penny, restaurants, a zoo..” She claims that “drugs took it over,” perhaps pointing to the signs of social decline such as dilapidated buildings and a homeless population. The rates of murder and robbery are above the national overage (Weichter, 2020). Toulminville’s value cannot be equated, however, since there are many residents, all with perhaps different experiences. There are community resources and evidence of members congregating in different areas. Toulminville is rich with history, culture, resources, and more. 

1. Demographics- According to Weichert.com, the ages of Toulminville residents range from infancy to above 85 years of age. The most populated category is the 60-64 years of age range with 783 members. The population is a little over 8000 people (Weichert, 2020). While driving through the area, I noticed several people congregating at various places, from gas stations to abandoned lots. They were of various ages, with the majority being African-American. Some residents were walking alongside the road. It was hard to tell if some were homeless or not. 

2. Ethnicity- There does not seem to be a great deal of diversity in the community from the windshield view. Most residents appear to be African-Americans, but I could not possibly see everyone, so this may be an unfair assessment. According to one source, 78.3 % of the population is comprised of African-Americans. About 8.4 % of the population is white, with other races having lower percentages (City-Data, 2020). There were no cultural festivals ensuing. There is one Chinese restaurant. Most restaurants are either fast-food joints or local businesses like Touch of the Blues. 

3. Values and Beliefs- Some lawns were well-kept while others were not. There was overgrowth of fauna on some of the abandoned buildings. With the amount of overgrown fauna and construct decay, some buildings appeared to have been abandoned for many years. There are several well-polished businesses and homes, however. One example is one of the local churches, Toulminville Warren St UMC. The lawn is manicured and the building seems to be in good condition. The houses of worship appear to be all Christian-based, though there are a variety of denominations. Two examples are St. Francis-Xavier Catholic Church and St. Stephens Road Church of God.

Community Subsystems

 

1.  Physical environment- The environment is not clean and is surrounded by broken down homes and is very indigent. I was able to find a map of the area via google maps and mapquest. The houses are very run down and there are not a variety of green areas. The climate is very humid. 73.5 percent of the population live in poverty.Toulminville is about 30.179 latitude and 88.091 longitude. It is also 30 feet below sea level (Weichert, 2020). 

2. Health and Social Sciences- There is one clinic in particular that is called FMC Toulminville. This is one of the few clinics amongst the area. There is not may acupuncture or herbalist. There are not many hospitals in the area except for USA University Hospital. The clinic has an outpatient dialysis department. There is usually only one physician. There are outside resources but they are limited.  (Weichert, 2020).

3. Economy- The local economy is significantly disadvantaged and substantially affects the residents, their living, and working conditions. The local hall, a sheriff’s department, five banks, ten restaurants, two hardware stores, ten groceries, four automotive repair centers, an electric office, three florists, three swimming pools, two furniture stores, three insurance agencies,  house, a city business include a local courthouse, one city hall, and a few local general shops down the town. The industry and most crucial employers in this county are almost void. There are only five industry-based businesses that employ fewer than thirty individuals at each facility.  The individuals that do not work at each one of the local businesses or industries must drive out of town for work. The average miles to travel when going to work is about 30 miles, and the time for travel is about 40 minutes. 

Besides, most rural areas are left reeling from the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs because must companies suddenly relocated to developing countries with even lower wages and less-stricter regulations. The workforce is divided into several categories, such as educational services, manufacturing, construction, retail trade, arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services. Other sectors include transportation, and warehousing and utilities, public administration, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, wholesale trade, information, and, most importantly, agriculture and forestry (Kaetz, 2020). Estimated, median household income is approximately $40,316 in 2017, with an estimated per capita income of $26,870. In this community, computer and mathematical occupations are the highest at 58,408 occupations, followed by the community and social service occupations.

4. Transportation and Safety

The primary forms of transport in this community are vans, private vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles. The community does not have any public bus service or taxi companies. However, the community has public transport services run by The Wave Transit System agency in Toulminville (thewavetransit.com, 2010). This mode of transport includes vans, which are used by individuals without any other means of transportation, and the individuals are charged fees for travel. Besides, the sidewalks are well maintained and are accessible to disabled individuals. These sidewalks also lead to some of the local businesses in the area. School children are transported to and from school by buses or some by private vehicles. Some students walk to and from school.  About 75.3 percent of individuals use their cars, while 16.3 percent use carpooled. Some 2.6 percent work from home, 1.6 percent uses buses for transport. Only 2.4 percent walk while going to work, and 1.6 percent of other forms of transportation (city-data.com, 2020).

5. Politics and Government

The local government consists of a county and city mayor as well as the city council members, country trustees, county and circuit court clerks, property assessors, registers of title deeds, one sheriff’s department, one town police stations, and two judicial offices. There is a government system in which the chief executive is called the “President” (Kaetz, 2020). The most influential politicians are of African-American descent.

6. Communication

In this community, communication is vital for almost everything that the individuals engaged in throughout the day. Toulminville community has both forms of communication; formal and informal (city-data.com, 2020). Many community dwellers are conversing with one another informally. The elderly individuals can be seen talking on the sidewalks, some friends talking while walking to their destinations, strangers and families talking to each other while in and out of the grocery stores. Some dwellers are also informally talking over their mobile phones, some of whom can be heard arguing, while others are laughing during their conversations. When it comes to formal communication, there are about three billboards, one with an advert sensitizing fight against addiction, two other commercial advertisements. Besides, there are also mailboxes in various corners used to send out letters to communicate with other individuals not living close. There are also some petrol stations selling newspapers (city-data.com, 2020).

7. Education

The Toulminville community is within Mobile County Public School System. The community has one district school with one elementary, one intermediate, one middle school, and one high school (city-data.com, 2020). There is one community college, that is, Sanford D. Bishop State Community College, that provided technical education to the public and surrounding areas. About two-thirds of high school graduates enroll in college within one year of graduation (Army Reserve Magazine, 2020). Approximately 84 percent of students enrolled in college graduate each year.

8. Recreation

This community does not have enough public services areas for recreational facilities. There are no recreational centers like the YMCA or activities that families can use during their leisure time or exercise. However, the community has a local park with limited recreational facilities in it. There is a small playground, a small picnic section, a walking track, a public swimming pool, and about five ball fields. The community has about three after school programs. One of the programs is run by the local school, one of a local church, and one by the municipality. Each of the programs has a limited amount of availability and age restriction limits. Additionally, the community has two-day care facilities that are opened during the weekends or summer (mobileda.org, 2020). Therefore, in case some need daycare services, he or she needs to hire a private individual that often takes 4 to 5 .

 

References

Toulminville (Tuleminville) neighborhood in Mobile, Alabama (AL), 36617 detailed profile. (2020). Retrieved March 29, 2020, from http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Toulminville-Mobile-AL.html

Route 15 - Toulminville | The Wave Transit System, AL. (2020). Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://www.thewavetransit.com/192/Route-15---Toulminville

Toulminville one of oldest neighborhoods. (1978). The News Herald. Retrieved from https://digital.mobilepubliclibrary.org/items/show/2065

Toulminville Mobile, AL Overview. (2020). Retrieved March 29, 2020, from https://www.weichert.com/search/community/neighborhood.aspx?hood=51322

mobileda.org. (2020). Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://www.mobileda.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/community_resources_mobile.pdf

Army Reserve Magazine. (2020). Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=6kiwb8e6oPgC&pg=RA7-PA31&lpg=RA7-PA31&dq=education+in+toulminville+community-+number+of+graduate+and+highschool&source=bl&ots=RoK_ipPir1&sig=ACfU3U3HyxLEOuWtUhZEdZJg6fdWJy48Rw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1qIa3gfToAhWUDWMBHZbdDcYQ6AEwAHoECAkQJw

Kaetz, J. (2020). Retrieved 19 April 2020, from http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3094